Thomas Cup Finals 2012: Kenichi Tago registers comprehensive win over experienced Taufik Hidayat
Japan’s young and talented shuttler Kenichi Tago proved his mettle as he put up a gutsy performance and registered a comprehensive victory over the former World and Olympic Champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia at the Thomas Cup Finals 2012 in China, on Wednesday,
May 23.
The World Number 8 Tago, who has been playing amazing badminton for the last six months, showed his top class skills and overpowered Taufik who is World Number 12 at the moment.
The Japanese was on a different level in the court as he played with incredible speed in the court and remained successful in beating Taufik in straight games with a remarkable margin on the board.
On the other hand, Taufik could not play his normal game and also failed to cope up with the pace of his higher ranked Japanese opponent and lost to him without impressing the crowd.
In the first game, both men started their run in a positive and attacking manner and reached at 3-3 when Tago geared up his speed and playing with impressive aggression to set up a reasonable lead on the board until the mid-game interval.
After the one-minute break, Taufik tried to employ his experience and played with variations in his strokes but failed to disturb the flow of his opponent who was playing on a different level.
Tago remained on track in the ending phase of opening game and wrapped up the first game with a superb 21-12 score on the board.
In the second game, Taufik showed his class in opening points and also took a small lead but failed to continue his elevated play as Tago took over the control by playing attacking badminton and took a wonderful lead of 11-7 until the interval.
After the break, Tago did not let his experience Indonesian opponent to catch up at any stage in the game while remaining composed in the court and won the battle with a decent 21-17 score on the board.
Tago gave a severe treatment to Taufik in this Men’s Singles straight-set competition with a stunning score of 21-12 and 21-17.
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