Thailand Open GP Gold 2012: Huan Gao ends the winning streak of Nan Wei at round-of-16 stage
China’s emerging young shuttler Huan Gao proved his mettle and stormed into Men’s Singles quarter-final after ending the winning run of Hong Kong’s Nan Wei at the round-of-16 stage in Thailand Open GP Gold 2012 at Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday, June 7.
The in-form Chinese has been playing to his maximum potential throughout the Thailand Open and also continued his impressive winning streak in his pre-quarter-final clash against Nan and advanced into the top-eight stage.
The young Chinese matched the speed and skills of his experienced Hong Kong opponent and remained successful in wrapping up a sensational victory in straight games with a tight margin on the board.
Nan, on the other hand, could not live up to expectations as he failed to maintain his focus at the crucial points in both sets and lost the match to his spirited Chinese challenger after struggling for 51 minutes in the court.
The first set started in an aggressive fashion from both sides as they played fast and composed badminton.
However it was Nan who took a small lead and maintained it until the end of opening half of the game by reaching at 11-8.
However, the spirited Huan did not stop fighting as he remained consistent and also played with variations in his shots. He remained positive and did not let his Hong Kong rival to stretch the lead.
The Chinese remained successful in catching up his rival at 13-13. Both men progressed equally on the score board until the score reached at 19-19 when Huan showed his brilliance and took the finishing points with to take the set with a 21-19 margin on the
board.
In the second game, both shuttlers again started their run in a positive manner and did not show any sign of confusion until the interval while remaining close on the board.
After the mid-game break, Nan tried his best to make his mark over the Chinese but failed to create gap on the score board.
Huan was focused in the ending points of second game and he played smart badminton in the end to wrap up the set with a narrow 21-19 margin on the board.
The young Chinese finished off this interesting straight set battle in 51 minutes with a decent score of 21-19 and 21-19.
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