Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold 2012: Sony Dwi Kuncoro penetrated into Men’s Singles quarter-final
Indonesia’s experienced male shuttler Sony Dwi Kuncoro penetrated into Men’s Singles quarter-final after defeating Malaysia’s Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif at the round-of-16 clash in Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold 2012 on Thursday, June 7, in Thailand.
The Indonesian veteran, who has been struggling hard to find his form back after a series of injuries, employed all of his skills to knock his Malaysian opponent down and managed to win the battle in three games.
Sony played well but lost the first game with a narrow margin. However, he fought back in the match and took the following sets and stamped a sensational victory over his higher ranked Malaysian rival in 74 minutes.
On the other hand, Arif gave a good fight and bagged the first game but failed to maintain his upper hand over his Indonesian rival and lost the contest with a decent score on the board.
In the first game, both men employed all of their skills to dominate the pace of rallies but no one could get a comfortable lead on the score board until the mid-game interval.
After the break, the Indonesian tried to take lead by taking the bird early at net but failed to take any advantage as her opponent was also quick in taking the bird early.
At the ending points of opening set, Sony could not play positive game and lost the set with a tight margin of 20-22.
In the following set, Arif started to play aggressive badminton in opening points but failed to maintain the gap as Sony played elevated badminton and managed an 11-9 lead until the break.
After the interval, the score progressed closely from both sides and reached at the ending points when Sony showed his class and took the set with a margin of 21-19.
In the deciding set, it was the Indonesian was in complete control of rallies as he played with precision and did not let his Malaysian opponent to take charge of the pace at any stage.
Sony managed to win the final set with a reasonable 21-15 margin on the score board.
The Indonesian overpowered Arif in three games with an overall score of 20-22, 21-19 and 21-15.
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