Rajiv Ouseph proves his worth against Viktor Axelsen in 2013 European Mixed Team Championships
The spirited British shuttler Rajiv Ouseph played impeccable badminton and defeated Viktor Axelsen in European Mixed Team Championships on Saturday, February 16, 2013.
This was a Men’s Singles tie of a match between Denmark and England. Both contenders remained head-to-head for 30 minutes before piling up the decisive figures of 16-21 and 12-21.
Though, the Danish campaigner put a decent effort in both segments of the showdown but he could not stop Rajiv from sealing a straight-set victory.
Viktor started this encounter with couple of mistakes. He dropped many valuable points immediately in the beginning of first set.
Rajiv did not squander this opportunity and established an unassailable lead without any delay. He capitalised this early advantage and doubled his total with few back-to-back productive rallies.
This intensive campaign confounded Viktor as he remained busy in just returning his rival’s strokes. This passive approach kept him at the lower end before the interval.
On the other hand, the British player showed consistency in his performance and finished first half of the set with a respectable score position.
After the mid-game break, both contenders challenged each other and made this a memorable contest.
Initially, Rajiv relished full benefits of psychological edge but then the opposing shuttler also showed some spark and narrowed the gap on points table.
Viktor raised his chances by ruling the court in couple of consecutive rallies but then his fluctuated performance forced him to surrender with 16-21 margin.
The second set of match was completely a one-sided affair as the Danish shuttler hardly put any resistance and knelt down tamely.
In first half of the set, Viktor made every effort to gain a decent advantage but he failed to hit the mark. He kept on making fatal mistakes and made things worse for him way before the interval.
Rajiv Ouseph made best out of his challenger’s blunders and established a strong grip over game. He did not lose focus at any stage and maintained a notable difference on the points table.
He registered an overwhelming figure of 21-12 and sealed a splendid straight-set victory. With this win he bagged an important match point for England.
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