Russia Open Grand Prix: Zulfadli Zulkiffli knocks out Andrey Parokhodin in Men’s Singles first round
Malaysia’s young shuttler Zulfadli Zulkiffli started his campaign authoritatively in Men’s Singles first round as he knocked out his local challenger Andrey Parokhodin in a lopsided fashion at the Russia Open Grand Prix 2012 on Wednesday, June 27, in Russia.
The current World Junior Champion Zulfadli, who has been positioned at number 94 in Men’s Singles world ranking, put up remarkable show of quality badminton and gave a severe lesson to his Russian opponent with an impressive ease.
The talented Malaysian played in a relaxed but focused manner against Parokhodin and thrashed him easily in straight games by working for just 28 minutes.
Parokhodin, in contrast, failed to live up to expectations of his home fans as he was helpless against the elevation and fireworks of his young Malaysian rival and lost to him easily with a huge margin.
In the first game, both player remained toe-to-toe at the early stage by playing to their best speed. However, it was the Malaysian who took a two-point advantage of 11-9 until the end of first half.
After the mid-game interval, Zulfadli increased his speed at net and also dictated the pace of rallies from rear-court area.
The Malaysian was composed in his play as he avoided unforced errors and maintained his focus all the way to grab the game with an impressive 21-14 margin on the score board.
In the second set, Parokhodin could not even play his normal game and committed many unforced errors which helped his opponent to stretch the gap.
The Russian failed to match the pace of rallies and also could not cope up with the aggression of Zulfadli which created the major difference between both players.
Zulfadli, in the meanwhile, was on a different level as he raced away to take an incredible 11-3 lead on the score board until the break.
After the one-minute interval, Zulfadli continued his roller-coaster ride without facing any trouble from his local opponent and wrapped up second game in a sensational fashion by a 21-11 score on the board.
The young Malaysian emerged as the winner in this 28-minute lopsided battle with a staggering margin of 21-14 and 21-11.
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