Riichi Takeshita and Wing Ki Wong set to meet in the final showdown of New Zealand International 2011
Japan’s Riichi Takeshita and Hong Kong’s Wing Ki Moon will meet in the final of the New Zealand International 2011 on April 3, 2011. Both players played exceptional badminton to move into the finals of the event. Takeshita brushed aside the third seed Muhammad
Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia in straight games, whereas Ki Wong stopped the aggressive run of Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia in a similar fashion. Both the semifinals were played on April 2, 2011.
The number three seed, Hafiz Hashim was the favourite on paper as he was facing the un-seeded Japanese. But Takeshita had other plans as he delivered a stunning performance in a packed indoor arena. In the opening game, the Japanese remained far ahead of
the Malaysian by playing a high-speed game and won the opening set with a convincing margin of 21-13, in just 14 minutes.
Hafiz Hashim was struggling against the aggressive approach of the Japanese even in the second set where he was trailing behind the opponent in the first part of the game. Takeshita was leading the game with a three-point gap at 11-8. He continued his positive
play and won the second game by a 21-15 margin in 16 minutes.
In the second semi-final match, Ki Wong showed no mercy to the experienced Sugiarto. The Indonesian started the opening game in a quivering manner as he threw away easy points. Ki Wong grabbed the opportunity and remained focused in the game, winning the
opening set in a very one-sided set. The score was 21-11, and Ki Wong took 14 minutes to get the better of the Indonesian.
Sugiarto failed to eliminate his errors even in the second game where Ki Wong established an 11-5 lead in the first part of the second set. The Indonesian changed his tactics and tried to change the pace of the game by slowing down the pace but failed to
deceive the opponent. Ki Wong finished the second set with the same margin of 21-11, in a match that proved to be totally one sided.
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