Mizuki Fujii, Reika Kakiiwa earn semi-final spot in Women’s Doubles event – London Olympics Update
Japan’s Mizuki Fujii-Reika Kakiiwa secured a spot in the semi-finals of London Olympics after overpowering Christinna Pedersen-Kamilla Rytter Juhl in quarter-finals at Wembley Arena on August 1, 2012.
This Women’s Doubles showdown concluded in just two games with final figures of 22-20 and 21-10.
The twosome of Mizuki and Reika showed superb coordination against Danish pair in the round of eight and sealed a straight-set victory in splendid manner.
Though, they took some time to get into proper rhythm in opening game but still they managed to survive this cliff-hanging tussle.
They had a cautious start which resulted in a tight margin before the interval but then a couple of back-to-back points helped to gain a decent advantage.
On the other hand, Christinna and Kamilla put a fluctuated performance which ultimately cost them a vital match point.
They were enjoying the upper hand just before the interval but then few unforced errors triggered the collapse and they could not gain permanent lead ever again.
The Japanese showed transformed character in second half of the opening game and maintained a slight edge all the way to final moments.
They did not drop many points and picked the bird early to bag first set with a tight yet favourable figure of 22-20.
However, second set of the match completely belonged to Mizuki and Reika as they outclassed their challengers in all areas of the game and locked the honour with a huge difference of eleven points.
Both teams were poles apart in terms of performance as the Danish couple struggled to revive their lost form before crashing out of the event.
First sign of trouble came when they blundered in few consecutive rallies in the beginning and allowed their competitors to establish an unassailable lead.
The partnership of Christinna and Kamilla looked off-colour throughout this segment of the battle whereas the opposing team struck hard and sent them packing with a mountainous total of 21-10.
Now the Japanese duo stands fair chance to qualify for the title match of this mega event as they will be up against the lower ranked Canadian duo Alex Bruce-Michelle Li in semi-final round.
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