Muhammad Rijal, Debby Susanto clear first hurdle in group stage of 2012 BWF Superseries Finals
Indonesia’s talented Mixed Doubles players Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto forged a fruitful chemistry and bagged their first victory in the group stage of BWF Superseries Finals on December 12, 2012.
They stamped higher ranked Malaysian duo Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying in a hard fought tussle which ended with a nerve-racking result of 21-18 and 21-19.
Peng Soon and Liu Ying, the second seeded duo of this prestigious tournament, were expected to have a smooth road to victory but the lower ranked Indonesian shuttlers came in their way.
Rijal and Debby displayed great finishing skills and won both segments of the showdown with a respectable margin.
In the opening game, they played with a cautious approach in the establishing rallies and this watchful strategy resulted in 4-4 total.
However, they geared up themselves and made a notable difference with few consecutive points. Both Mixed Doubles partners looked completely on song while clinching four points in a row before the interval.
This flurry of productive strokes took Rijal-Debby to a commanding position of 11-7 and they relished full benefits of this psychological edge in latter part of the game.
Though, they lost focus for a short span of time and allowed the Malaysian pair to proceed on points table but still they managed to counterbalance the situation when it mattered.
The Indonesian campaigners played with laudable conviction and registered an impressive figure of 21-18 on the board.
Next game was also played in similar fashion as both contenders gave each other tough time and made this memorable contest.
This segment of the showdown kept the audience intact until final moments as no team could establish a permanent lead.
Initially, Peng Soon and Liu Ying were dominating the overall pace of rallies and it felt that they will setup a nerve-racking third set.
However, Rijal-Debby struck hard when it was needed and tipped the scale in their favour. They finished first half of the set with a decent figure of 11 and then sealed a splendid straight-set victory with 21-19 score.
With this win, the Indonesian shuttlers have alarmed all the contestants in group B and now critics are giving them better odds for the coming encounters.
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