V Shem, Khim Wah clutch quarter-final seat in Men’s Doubles event – Singapore Open Update
Li Ning Singapore Open got another Men’s Doubles quarter-finalist when Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah of Malaysia outshined Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato in second round match on June 21, 2012.
However, it was not a smooth road to victory for them against high ranked opponents as they had to wait for 59 minutes to read favourable result of 15-21, 21-17 and 16-21.
This splendid win took V Shem-Khim Wah into top eight teams of the event and now they will face either compatriot duo Thien How Hoon-Wee Kiong Tan or reigning Olympic Champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan in next encounter.
The Malaysians played impeccable badminton and dazzled the World Number 11 pair in opening and closing sets of pre quarter-final contest while the Japanese could show their class only in second set of the match.
Though, Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato was tagged as favourites but they proved all predictions wrong by kneeling down in crucial moments.
They opened their marathon with a five-point deficit until half time of first set. They failed to rise on their toes in later part of the game and faced an immediate 15-21 defeat.
However, the Japanese shuttlers made amends in following game and managed to stay in the competition.
This time they read their rivals’ game early and confined them in the rear court. They set the foundation of their supremacy by pocketing five consecutive points in the beginning.
They committed some fatal errors which allowed their competitors to narrow the gap at 11-9 before the interval.
Later part of the set remained an exciting tussle until 16-15 but then Naoki Kawamae and Shoji Sato made difference with two back-to-back points at 18-15 position. They maintained this edge until last moment and bagged second set with 21-17 margin.
The decider turned one-sided affair after first half as the Malaysians locked the honour by displaying better finishing skills.
World Number 26 duo V Shem-Khim Wah controlled overall pace of rallies after interval and tipped the scale in their favour with a mountainous total of 18-13.
This significant lead helped them to seal a splendid win with scoreboard flashing final figure of 21-16.
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