Tontowi Ahmad, Liliyana Natsir power their way in quarter-finals of 2012 London Olympics
Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir registered their third consecutive win in London Olympics by beating Thomas Laybourn-Kamilla Rytter Juhl in group match at Wembley Arena on July 31, 2012.
This Group C encounter was concluded in just two games as the victorious duo stamped their supremacy with an overwhelming margin of 24-22 and 21-16.
With this splendid straight-set win, the third seeded Indonesian pair secured a berth in quarter-final round of the mega event.
This was their fourth meeting with Danish challengers and they claimed their third victory in a splendid manner.
Tontowi and Liliyana, who have been in top form after bagging All-England, Swiss Open and India Open titles this year, boosted their confidence with this crucial win just before the elimination round of the London Games.
Though, they had a cautious start but still laid the foundation of their dominance by clutching first match point.
The Indonesians started their campaign with couple of gruelling rallies and could not make difference in most part of the first half.
However, they did not lose their nerve in this pressure situation and managed to stay close to their rivals until mid-game break.
After the interval, they picked up the pace and gained a decent advantage in third quarter of the set. They lost focus in final stage which made this set a neck-and-neck contest but few productive rallies helped them to place a favourable margin of 24-22.
The second set turned into one-sided affair after half time as the Danish campaigners showed commendable fighting spirit in the beginning but their competitors’ determination proved too much for them.
On the other hand, Tontowi and Liliyana displayed superior finishing skills and transformed their 1-0 lead into a straight-set victory.
In first half, both contenders put an extra effort to achieve their respective goals but none of them could gain a permanent lead before half time.
The high ranked Indonesian campaigners justified their status by exhibiting unbeatable craft in later part of the game.
They did not give their opponents even a single counter-attack opportunity and cemented their spot in the quarter-finals of the mega event with a staggering knock of 21-16.
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