Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir secure a berth in Mixed Doubles final of Swiss Open GP Gold
Indonesia’s best players Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir continued their commanding run as they secured their berth in Mixed Doubles final of German Open GP Gold 2012, which is in progress at Basel, Switzerland.
In the semi-final showdown, the top seeds Tontowi and Liliyana overpowered Anglo-Scottish couple Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier on Saturday, March 17.
The Indonesians worked hard against Adcock and Bankier and managed to win the battle in hard-fought three games by taking 52 minutes in the court.
The World Number 14 Adcock and Bankier put up superb show of fast and positive badminton but failed to prove their worth in the deciding set and lost the match with a decent score on the board.
The start of first set was favourable to the Indonesians as they did not face any resistance from their opponent and set up an impressive lead of 11-3 until the one-minute break.
After the interval, Adcock and Bankier elevated their play but failed to bridge the huge gap as their higher ranked challengers were on a different level.
Tontowi and Liliyana managed to bag the first set with a comfortable 21-15 score on the board.
In the second set, Adcock and Bankier showed their brilliance by playing fast and positive badminton and remained equal against their higher ranked rivals until the break.
After the break, both couples continued playing positive and aggressive game and reached at 15-15 when Tontowi and Liliyana could not play maintain their dominating position and lost the set with a margin of 16-21.
In the deciding set, both sides were equal on the score board until 8-8 when Tontowi and Liliyana controlled the pace of rallies and reached at 11-9 until the interval.
After the break, the Indonesians were fully focused in the game as they extended their lead by playing to their maximum speed.
Tontowi and Liliyana did not spare any chance for their rivals to fight back in the game and ended it with a comfortable margin of 21-13.
The top seeds emerged as the winner of this semi-final clash with a 21-15, 16-21 and 21-13 score on the board.
In the title match, Tontowi and Liliyana will lock horns against Thailand’s Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam who won their semi-final contest against China’s Hanbin He and Yixin Bao.
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