Tan Aik Quan, Lai Pei Jing rule in group stage of 2012 National Circuit GP Finals
Mixed Doubles duo Tan Aik Quan-Lai Pei Jing played flawless badminton in the group stage of Maybank National Circuit Grand Prix Finals and sealed a splendid win on December 27, 2012.
They were up against Ong Yew Sin-Norshahida Baharum in a Group B match and this encounter ended with final result of 21-18, 13-21 and 21-12.
The second seeded Malaysian pair prevailed in the opening and ending games whereas the losing team could show its brilliance only in the second set.
In first set of the match, Tan Aik and Lai Pei took some time to get on right track but they never looked back after gaining the required momentum.
They started the beating after 3-3 and got into commanding position with a mountainous figure of 9.
Next couple of rallies saw them in sublime touch as they did not make even a single mistake and piled up an indomitable total of 11.
After the mid-game break, both partners showed consistency in their performance and stunned the opposing duo.
The twosome of Ong Yew and Norshahida strived hard to narrow the gap but they failed to tip the scale in their favour until 18-21.
However, they managed to rise from the dust in very next game and avoided a straight-set defeat. This time they changed their tactics and kept their challengers busy just in returning their masterly crafted strokes.
In first half of the set, Ong Yew and Norshahida established a notable led with 7-3 margin and then capitalised this advantage to place an impressive score of 11.
After the one-minute break, they geared up themselves and widened the gap on points table with couple of uninterrupted rallies.
Though, Tan Aik and Lai Pei chased their competitors until last moment but they had to give up this futile chase after reading 13-21 margin.
The third set became consequential as both Malaysian teams were looking to claim this final match point.
They stood toe-to-toe until half time but then Tan Aik and Lai Pei geared up themselves and left their rivals far behind.
They maintained a significant difference of nine points and sealed a splendid win with 21-12 score.
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