Singapore International Series: Anup Sridhar beats Akira Koga to surge into Men’s Singles semi-final
India’s experienced player Anup Sridhar continued his winning streak and surged into Men’s Singles semi-final after showing his elevated craft against Japan’s Akira Koga in quarter-final showdown at the Singapore International Series 2012 in Singapore, on
Thursday, August 16.
The higher ranked Anup, who has been seeded at number four in Men’s Singles main draw of the tournament, played to his maximum potential and managed to overpower his un-seeded Japanese opponent in a hard-fought contest.
The fourth seeded Anup remained successful in taking the first game but he failed to finish the match in straight games losing the second set to Akira.
However, the Indian shuttler showed a wonderful performance in the final set and took it easily to end up the contest in rubber games with a reasonable margin on the board.
In the meanwhile, Akira put up spectacular show of top quality badminton and also snatched a game from Anup before bowing down to him in three games in a respectable fashion.
The opening game was quite interesting when both players put in extra effort to take an early lead but they could not manage it.
However, Anup started to gear up the pace of rallies and managed a comfortable lead until the end of opening half.
After the break, the Indian shuttler continued showing his elevated skills on court and easily ended up the opening game with a huge margin of 21-14.
In the following set, Akira showed his class by playing to his maximum potential as he took the bird early and remained successful in taking a reasonable lead until the break.
After the mid-game interval, Anup became a little sluggish in his movement on court and eventually lost the set with a margin of 17-21.
Nevertheless, Anup played with tremendous control in the deciding game and managed to take a remarkable lead until the mid-game interval.
After the break, the higher ranked Indian shuttler continued putting up superb show of aggressive badminton and eventually won the set with a huge 21-11 score on the board.
The in-form Anup won this quarter-final battle in hard-fought three sets with a margin of 21-14, 17-21 and 21-11.
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