Niluka Karunaratne waylays Shu Wada to break in to quarter-final round – US Open Update
Sri Lanka’s talented shuttler Niluka Karunaratne proved his class against Shu Wada of Japan to make his way in the quarter-final round of Yonex OCBC US Open GPG on July 4, 2012.
Both contenders kept swinging their arms for 59 minutes to read final result of 19-21, 21-14 and 16-21 after three gruelling sets.
The victorious shuttler will now lock horns with higher ranked Russian contender Vladimir Ivanov in round of eight of this Grand Prix Gold event.
Earlier in pre quarter-finals, Niluka dazzled his opponent straight away in first set but also got off track in the second game before sealing a splendid 2-1 victory in the decider.
Meanwhile, the Japanese campaigner put remarkable show of skills in first segments but he could not live up to his billing in crucial moments of the battle.
The first set of the match started with the Sri Lankan player making swift progress to six points but he lost focus in the next couple of rallies and allowed his rival to level the score at 6-6.
They remained close until 9-9 but then Niluka made the difference by having a slight edge in 11-10 total before the interval.
World Number 52 player maintained this rhythm in later part of the game and mounted pressure by registering 15-11 margin.
Though, he faltered in final moments but it did not hurt him much as he finished the first set with favourable figure of 21-19.
However, Shu Wada did not surrender easily and fought vigorously in the next game of the match. He played with right attitude and fortitude as he bagged crucial match point with a huge difference of seven points.
The Japanese shuttler had a slow start but he picked up some pace after 3-6 and placed a respectable total of 11-10 before half time.
After the interval, he completely dominated in every area of the game and cornered his competitor with an overwhelming margin of 21-14.
Third set was supposed to be a nerve-racking fight as both players were just one knock away from a quarter-final entry but Niluka stole the limelight in an amazing manner.
He dictated his challenger from very first stroke to the last and emerged as champion by putting up a decisive figure of 21-16.
Tags: