Thailand Open 2012: Anand Pawar crashes out after losing to Brice Leverdez in opening round
India received first blow in its SCG Thailand Open campaign when their biggest hope in the Men’s Singles event Anand Pawar flew back home after failing against Brice Leverdez in opening match on June 6, 2012.
However, World Number 61 Anand registered his presence in this short run as he lost with respectable totals of 21-15, 18-21 and 19-21.
He stood with full stature against higher ranked opponent for 60 minutes and earned a great deal of admiration for his fighting spirit.
The winning contender Brice Leverdez will now lock horns with another Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth B in second round of tournament.
In first round match, he had to overcome unseeded but spirited Anand Pawar who gave him tough time after prevailing in the opening set.
World Number 36 Brice had no answer to his rival’s masterly crafted strokes and remained at lower end all the way to game point situation.
The Indian lad set the foundation of his supremacy by registering five quick points in score log and then strengthened his grip by placing total of 11 before interval.
Though, Anand lost focus after one-minute break which allowed the opposing shuttler to bring contest to right balance.
However he reinstated his dominance with five nonstop rallies and wrapped the show with 21-15.
The French campaigner, who is ranked at ninth position in this event, managed to make amends in very next game. He turned his competitor’s plan of straight-set victory into dust and levelled match score.
Brice Leverdez was bit sluggish until 5-2 but he perked up soon and ended first half with a slight edge in 11-10 margin.
Third quarter of set brought great trouble as his challenger Anand Pawar made swift progress and reached at 16-11 but he employed all the experience to end this tussle with a favourable figure of 21-18.
The decider turned best part of contest as first the Indian was in a strong position to steal the lime-light but Brice Leverdez pushed him into the dark by striking hard when it mattered.
This nerve-racking battle got resolved when the French contender registered decisive margin of 21-19 on the board.
Tags: