Thailand Open 2012: Liu Xiaolong, Qiu Zihan tame Rahmat Adianto, Angriawan in quarter-finals
Men’s Doubles partners Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan powered their way to semi-finals of SCG Thailand Open after beating Rahmat Adianto-Angriawan Berry in quarter-final match on June 8, 2012.
They sweat hard for 59 minutes to read a favourable margin of 21-17, 16-21 and 21-13 on the board.
Now the Chinese couple is all set to take on either Indonesian pair Ricky Karanda Suwardi-Muhammad Ulinnuha or Ki Jung Kim-Sa Rang Kim of Korea.
Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan were a treat to watch in hard fought battle of quarter-final round where they emerged as champions with respectable 2-1 match score.
The World Number 15 pair, who is also ranked on the top in this event, set the foundation of their victory in very first game of contest.
They opened marathon with a swift lead of four points but could not maintain this advantage for much long as the opposing team picked up the pace and entered a decent total of 6-4.
The Indonesians strengthened their grip with 9-6 and then remained leading contender with 11-9 at one-minute break.
However, the later part of the set was completely dominated by Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan who first levelled the score and then wrapped first segment with a decent margin of 21-17.
Rahmat and Angriawan did not lose nerves after this failure and stormed back with a strong reply in the following game.
They employed unusual tactics as they fetched many points with nipping smashes and deceiving drop net shots.
In first half of the set, they made their intentions clear by reaching at 8-4 in no time and then put their higher ranked opponents under huge pressure by registering a mountainous total of 11 until interval.
Later part saw them playing with right attitude and fortitude which ultimately helped them to end this tussle with a staggering figure of 21-16.
It seems Chinese had saved their best for such challenging situation as they proved their supremacy technically and tactically.
Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan ruled the court in decider as they cornered the opposing team with 11-5 at half time before pushing them into dark with 21-13 score on the board.
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