US Open Grand Prix Gold 2012: Kaori Imabeppu brushes aside Joycelyn Ko to land a title berth
Japan’s young female shuttler proved her mettle and stole the limelight when she landed a title berth after brushing aside Canada’s Joycelyn Ko in Women’s Singles semi-final of Yonex OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold 2012 in Los Angeles, on Friday, July 6.
Kaori was in full swing on court as she played with tremendous precision and remained successful in crushing her Canadian rival in the semi-final encounter with a smashing margin on the board.
The un-seeded Japanese shuttler was aggressive and positive on court as she did not let her opponent to take charge of rallies and easily wrapped up a spectacular victory in straight games in a lopsided fashion.
On the other hand, the Canadian failed to maintain her positive and killing performance in the tournament as she could not put up strong show against her Japanese opponent in the entire semi-final contest and crashed out without proving her craft.
The in-form Kaori was impressive from the starting points as she played with tremendous spirit in opening set and took a sensational lead by putting up a staggering margin on the score board until the end of first half.
After the break, the Japanese shuttler continued her speedy run without sparing any chance for her rival.
Kaori executed her strokes quite effectively without making unforced errors and eventually won the opening game with a phenomenal 21-8 score on the board.
After the break, Joycelyn tried to play elevated badminton but again failed to prove her superiority on court as her Japanese opponent was playing flawless badminton.
Until the one-minute break, it was again Kaori who took over the control and established a comfortable lead.
After getting back into the court, Kaori continued snapping her rival’s heel by playing at her best. She did not lose her focus and also kept Joycelyn moving around in all areas.
The aggressive Japanese lady was remarkable in her shot selection and execution which helped her to take the second game with a nine-point margin of 21-12.
Kaori emerged as the winner against Joycelyn in straight games with an authoritative 21-8 and 21-12 score on the board.
Tags: