Samantha Barning, Eefje Muskens reserve right to be in semi-finals of 2012 Yonex Dutch Open
Women’s Doubles shuttlers Samantha Barning and Eefje Muskens doubled the celebration by making it to the semi-finals of Yonex Dutch Open on Friday, October 12, 2012.
They stunned the top seeded Swedish pair Emelie Lennartsson-Emma Wengberg in a quarter-final tussle which took place at local badminton arena of Almere, Netherlands.
Both teams kept the audience glued to their chairs for 58 minutes and ended this cliff-hanging encounter with a nerve-racking result of 21-10, 21-23 and 21-15.
The Dutch shuttlers prevailed in the opening and closing segments of the showdown whereas the opposing team could pocket only the second match point.
In the first set, Samantha and Eefje kept a low profile in the beginning but they stunned their rivals with a brisk attack after one-minute interval and won the opening game with a notable eleven-point lead.
They ruled the court in three rallies without any interruption but then a few unforced errors brought them down.
The twosome of Emelie and Emma geared themselves up and remained close on the points table until 9-9 total.
At this stage, the lower ranked duo Samantha-Eefje showed elevated craft and pocketed eight points in a row.
This proved final blow for the Danish players as they could not rise all the way to game point situation and surrendered after reading 10-21 score.
However, they managed to save some honour by performing exceptionally well in the very next game.
This time Emelie and Emma played with positive approach and maintained a decent edge until final moments. They established an early grip by gathering valuable points at steady pace and confined the opposing team in the rear court.
They proved themselves superior in mental and physical fitness by surviving several gruelling rallies. This crucial set ended with a tight yet decisive margin of 23-21.
The decider became consequential with this development and both contenders made every effort to oust the opponent.
They chased each other until mid-game break and their honest effort was applauded by the local badminton lovers.
Initially, Emelie and Emma were in strong position to seal a splendid win but then Samantha and Eefje turned the tables with an impressive knock of 21-15.
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