Ruben Castellanos, Melanie Braeuner clinch Under-17 Mixed Doubles title in MBBC Jr. International
The young but talented Mixed Doubles team Ruben Castellanos-Melanie Braeuner claimed the trophy in Under-17 category of MBBC Jr. International by thrashing Brandon Alvarado-Adriana Cojulun on July 19, 2012.
This final encounter was staged at Manhattan Beach in California, USA and both teams displayed prime class badminton skills to put decisive figures of 21-9, 16-21 and 21-16.
Though, Ruben and Melanie put a fluctuated performance but still they managed to win this battle for the throne by prevailing in the opening and closing parts of the game.
Meanwhile, the other Guatemala pair could not find their lost chemistry and surrendered after a severe 2-1 blow.
In the opening game of match, Brandon and Adriana hardly put any resistance and lost the vital set with a huge deficit of twelve points.
First sign of trouble came when their challengers cornered them by ruling in five consecutive rallies. They made every effort to come out of their influence but could not hit the mark.
The twosome of Ruben and Melanie accelerated their pace and reached at commanding position of 8-2.
They did not lose this tempo in next couple of rallies and finished the first half with a mountainous total of 11-4.
Brandon and Adriana showed some spark in later part of the game but it was not enough to burn down the opposing team who stole limelight with 21-9 score on the board.
However, second set changed the scenario as the suppressed duo of the opening game stood tall in front of their higher ranked rivals.
This time, Brandon-Adriana played with right fortitude and successfully avoided a straight-set defeat. They set the foundation of their victory by finishing the first half with 11-9 and then magnified the impact with 21-16 at the end of the second set.
The decider was expected to be a cliff-hanging contest as both contenders were just one win away from the crown.
The duo remained close until the mid-game break but then Ruben-Melanie struck hard to keep their competitors grounded.
They were standing at 11-9 margin when four nonstop rallies helped them to make the difference on the points table.
The team maintained this lead throughout the second half and emerged as Champion with a winning score of 21-16.
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