Saeful Goffar stamps Rifqi to secure a berth in main draw of Jakarta Open 2012
Men’s Singles expert Saeful Goffar marched into main draw of Djarum Sirnas Flypower Jakarta Open after overwhelming his compatriot shuttler Rifqi in qualifying round on May 15, 2012.
This final tussle of qualifying round was full of drama as both players pushed each other all the way to three hard fought games and displayed final results of 21-12, 14-21 and 21-11 after an exhausting exercise of 50 minutes.
The victorious contender Saeful Goffar dominated in the biggest chunk of the game and snatched the honour to be in the main draw.
On the other hand, Rifqi showed lack of good finishing skills as he squandered his efforts in the final set and crashed out of the event.
In the opening game, both players remained close on the scoreboard in first half and put a fascinating show of skills to overcome each other.
Saeful managed to gain a decent advantage until the interval and then he added some quick points in his rapidly growing total after one-minute break as well.
He dictated his challenger in all areas of court and then continued to confound Rifqi with his variations during the final spell. He ended first set with a favourable margin of 21-12.
However, the local shuttler Rifqi switched on the best when he found himself one down. He dazzled his opponent with a lustrous performance in the second set.
In first half, he took a slow start as he was bit cautious after first set loss but came out of that pressure with some continuous rallies. He established a comfortable lead by placing a total of 11 before the mid-game break.
After the interval, he demonstrated flawless badminton skills and put his challenger under great pressure by raising his lead to seven points.
This burden proved too heavy for opposing shuttler Saeful as he knelt down after reading concluding figures of 14-21.
In third and final set, Saeful set off at breakneck speed straight away in the beginning and placed a formidable total of 11 before the break.
He added more intensity in his invasion in later part of the game and stood there with arms aloft by putting convincing margin of 21-11 in the end.
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