Malaysian Open Super Series: Kenichi Tago stuns Peter Hoeg Gade in Men’s Singles round-of-16
Japan’s in-form shuttler, Kenichi Tago delivered a surprising performance as he stunned Denmark’s Peter Hoeg Gade in Men’s Singles round-of-16 at the 2012 Malaysia Open Super Series on Thursday, January 12, in Malaysia.
Tago, who is currently at Number 12 in Men’s Singles world placements, proved his mettle against the World Number Four Peter Gade, who was the fourth seed in the main draw of Malaysia Open. The Japanese put up a stunning show of top-class badminton and bagged the match in three games.
Peter Gade, who was the favourite for this match, could not cope up with the speed and perfection of Japanese shuttler and lost the battle in 68 minutes. With this remarkable victory over the Danish rival, Tago has secured his place in the Men’s Singles quarter-final of the tournament.
Tago started the game with an incredible speed but failed to dominate the pace as his higher ranked opponent was also playing at the same level. The score progressed tightly as no shuttler could manage a comfortable lead until 11-11.
The Japanese was leading with a reasonable margin until the ending phase by reaching at 19-16. At this stage, Peter Gade elevated his play and scored five consecutive points to bag the first game. Tago lost the opening set with a close 19-21 score on the board.
In the second game, Tago showed his elevated play as he took over the control and set up an early lead. Peter Gade tried his best to match the speed of rallies but failed to control the bird.
The Danish shuttler was struggling to take the bird early and failed to find gaps in his rival’s court. On the other hand, Tago did not face any problem in the second game and took it with a wonderful lead of 21-11.
In the final set of this round-of-16 battle, the score remained equal from both sides until 5-5 when the Japanese dominated the rallies from all areas of the court. Peter Gade became slow and also took the bird late which helped Tago to maintain pressure.
With his positive run, Tago ended the deciding set with a comfortable margin of 21-16. The final score of this pre-quarter-final battle was 19-21, 21-11 and 21-16.
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