Rohit Karnatak enthrals Syed Saad Ali in semi-finals of Karnataka State Ranking Badminton Tournament
Boy’s Singles shuttler Rohit Karnatak continued with his top form and unseated Syed Saad Ali to secure a berth in the title match of Belgaum 3 Star Karnataka State Ranking Badminton Tournament on September 4, 2012.
Though, this semi-final encounter concluded in just two games but still both contenders kept the audience intact while piling up decisive figures of 21-16 and 21-14.
Rohit, who was an unseeded player in this tournament, performed beyond expectations and grabbed attention by sealing a straight-set victory.
On the other hand, the top seeded Saad Ali could not live up to his billing and crashed out of the event in a disgraceful manner.
The battle heated up straight away in the preliminary stage when both shuttlers put all in their possession to gain an early advantage.
They stayed close in the opening rallies of the first set and did not allow each other to make a notable difference.
Initially, Saad mounted pressure by gathering some valuable points in a row but then his rival counter-balanced the situation with a strong reply.
Rohit stood tall to his stature despite losing a couple of points and made amends by prevailing in some consecutive rallies.
He did not lose this touch and strengthened his grip by registering an indomitable total of 11 before the interval.
After the mid-game break, he injected more intensity in his invasion and cornered the opposing shuttler. He widened the gap in third quarter of the set and left his challenger far behind with an overwhelming margin of 21-16.
The second set started with some back-to-back gruelling rallies as both contenders strived hard to achieve their respective goals.
Rohit was looking to finish this tussle in just two games while Saad was trying to avoid a straight-set defeat.
However, Rohit displayed superior badminton skills and proved his mettle when it mattered. He started making progress just before half time and carried this momentum all the way to game point situation.
He locked the honour with a staggering knock of 21-14 and qualified for the final round where he will be up against another spirited shuttler Mithun Manjunath.
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