Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif defeats Sourabh Verma in first round of Badminton Asia Championships
Malaysia’s Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif enters in the second round of the Men’s Singles after beating Sourabh Verma of India in the first round of the Badminton Asia Championships 2011, in China today.
Arif Latif spent only 23 minutes to get rid of Verma in a two-set match. In the second stage of the event, Arif will meet Sho Sasaki of Japan who defeated Yara Azad of Iraq in straight sets in the first round.
The comfortable win of Arif Latif over the Indian proved that he has improved tremendously for the last two years, particularly in the area of physical fitness. Both shuttlers put up a good show in front of the packed indoor arena in Sichuan by playing superb
badminton. Arif Latif was leading the game with a slight margin of 11-9 at the end of the opening part of the first set.
After the 60-second break, Verma tried to level the score but failed as the Malaysian became quicker and established a good lead of 18-12. Arif Latif employed his wonderful jump smashes coupled with the spinning and tight net shots. His flawless game kept
him in the driving seat throughout the opening set of this first round match. He won the first set with a reasonable margin of 21-16 by taking just 13 minutes.
Arif Latif kept his momentum going in the second set of the match. Verma tried to put more speed in the game but his opponent was dominating the game with considerable ease. Arif Latif’s shot selection and execution of the strokes spared no opportunity for
the opponent to dominate the game. He established a 5-point lead in the opening part of the second set by reaching 11-6.
After the one-minute break, Verma tried to reduce the gap by playing positive badminton and reached 12-16. The Malaysian then accelerated the pace of the game by playing attacking strokes and finished the second set by spending only 10 minutes in the court
with a 21-12 score on the board.
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