Taufik Hidayat slays Nguyen Tien Minh in Men’s Singles round-of-16 at Malaysia Open Super Series
Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat secures his berth in Men’s Singles quarter-final after defeating the higher ranked Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam in Men’s Singles round-of-16 at Malaysia Open Super Series 2012, in Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday, January 12.
The World Number 11 Taufik has been struggling hard to win a major international tournament for the last one year. However, he seems in good shape at the moment as he has defeated the World Number Seven, Tien Minh, in the pre-quarter-final contest in an
impressive style.
Taufik was everywhere in the court as he played to his maximum potential and did not let his rival fight back in both games of the match. He entertained the crowd for 41 minutes and ended the contest in straight games without any considerable effort.
Tien Minh opened his campaign in the first game in an attacking way and took a small lead of 4-1. However, Taufik, who is famous for his calmness in the court, showed no sign of urgency and he took a little time to find his flow and then started to play
a complete game.
He levelled the score and also established a comfortable lead of 11-6 in the opening half of the first set.
After the break in the starting game, Taufik continued impressing the crowd by playing flawless badminton. His anticipation was incredible and he did not let his rival to fight back in the game. The Indonesian bagged the first set in a fabulous fashion with
a stunning score of 21-11.
In the second game, Taufik played with precision in opening points and set up a small lead. However, Tien Minh played to his maximum speed at this stage and levelled the score. But again, the Indonesian started to accelerate his speed and hammered his rival
with his superb jumping smashes.
Taufik remained successful in setting up a striking lead of 11-7. He was in complete control of rallies as he did not face any problem in winning points. Tien Minh was helpless against the planned and positive play of Taufik.
The Indonesian shuttler finished up the second set with a striking score of 21-14. The overall result of this pre-quarter-final battle was 21-11 and 21-14.
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