US Open GP Gold: Niluka Karunaratne beats Sirachai Phanpuchara in Men’s Singles second round
Sri Lanka’s right-handed shuttler Niluka Karunaratne continued his tremendous run as he defeated Sirachai Phanpuchara of USA in Men’s Singles second round at Yonex OCBC US Open GP Gold 2012 in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, July 3.
Niluka, who is positioned at number five in Men’s Singles main draw of US Open, had to dig into his reserves to get rid of his stubborn opponent in a superb battle that took 37 minutes from both sides.
Sirachai, on the other hand, showed his brilliance in front of his home fans but failed to dictate the pace in final set of the battle and lost to his Sri Lankan rival in three games with a respectable margin on the board.
It was a good fight in the starting points of first set as both shuttlers put up superb performance and reached at 9-9 when Niluka executed powerful smashes to take an 11-9 lead until the one-minute interval.
After the break, the higher ranked Niluka continued his positive and smart play in all areas of the court. He did not let his local opponent to catch up at any stage in ending part and took the first game with a 21-14 score on the board.
In the following game, it was Sirachai who showed up his brilliance by working extra hard in the court. He put up stunning show by playing attacking badminton and took a startling lead of 11-4 until he break.
After the interval, Niluka tried his best to catch up his rival but failed to bridge the huge gap on score board and eventually lost the game with margin of 17-21.
In the decider, Niluka got furious as he employed powerful smashes and impressive net killings to take a stunning lead of 11-2 until the end of opening half.
After the break, the in-form Niluka continued his fireworks without sparing any chance for his rival to narrow the gap. He was in full control of rallies and ended the set with a huge margin of 21-14.
Niluka won this Men’s Singles second round battle in just 37 minutes with a 21-14, 17-21 and 21-14 score on the board.
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