Polish International 2012: Ai Goto struggles against Anu Nieminen in Women’s Singles quarter-final
Japan’s talented female player Ai Goto had to struggle hard in winning her quarter-final contest against Finland’s Anu Nieminen at 36th Yonex Polish International 2012, in Poland, on Saturday, March 24.
Goto, who is World Number 19 and the top seed in Women’s Singles draw of the championship, had to employ everything she had in her possession to beat her Finnish opponent in a thrilling contest.
The higher ranked Japanese worked really hard to chuck out Nieminen in well-fought three games and advanced into Women’s Singles semi-final.
On the other hand, Nieminen showed her impressive skills and stretched her higher ranked opponent into three games but failed to dominate rallies in the end and lost the match.
Goto started her campaign in the opening set in an entertaining manner as she played aggressive badminton and set up an impressive lead in the first half.
Until the break in the first set, the Japanese remained successful in managing a comfortable lead of 11-6 on the board.
After the break, Nieminen tried to elevate her play but failed to narrow the gap as her higher ranked Japanese opponent was fully focused in the game.
Goto played with precision in the first set and bagged it with a wonderful ease by a 21-11 score on the board.
In the second game, Goto became a little slow which helped her opponent to control the pace of rallies. Nieminen managed a wonderful lead of 11-6 until the end of opening half.
After the break, Goto tried to reduce the deficit by playing with precision but failed to dominate the pace of rallies because her lower ranked challenger was quicker this time.
Goto could not stop the aggressive play of her opponent in the second game and lost it with a five-point margin of 16-21.
In the deciding set, Goto became aggressive and controlled the driving seat from the opening points. She managed an incredible lead of 11-3 until the one-minute break.
After the interval, Goto continued her positive and elevated play and easily bagged the deciding set with a remarkable 21-11 score on the board.
The top seed Japanese appeared as the winner of this contest with an interesting margin of 21-11, 16-21 and 21-11.
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