Vietnam International Challenge 2012: Arun Vishnu, Aparna Balan crash out of mixed doubles event
India’s biggest hope in mixed doubles event Arun Vishnu-Aparna Balan crashed out of Ciputra Hanoi Vietnam International Challenge after losing quarter-final against Habib Faisal-Pia Zebadiah on March 30, 2012.
The second seeded pair of the tournament could not live up to the expectations and knelt down against its Indonesian rivals after reading final figures of 21-15, 16-21 and 7-21.
The Indian pair, who was the hot favourite to win the title, looked off-colour in most part of the 41-minute tussle and ended their run two steps early than the expected finish line.
The duo of Arun Vishnu-Aparna Balan took a great start and established 1-0 lead straight away in the opening set of the match. They launched a swift attack and their rivals did not have proper answer to their prime class badminton.
The mixed doubles experts Arun and Aparna scored some valuable points in first half of the set but they could not establish a distinctive lead as the other duo also managed to step forward on the score board.
After one-minute break the Indians accelerated their pace and left their rivals far behind with a decent six point lead. They bagged the first set by registering final margin of 21-15 in score log.
The next game of the match was replay of the first one but of course in reverse manner. The Indonesian couple stormed back and stunned their opponents with a gutsy performance.
The duo of Habib Faisal and Pia Zebadiah got in commanding position by scoring some quick points. They kept their rivals at the lower side with their tactical and technical supremacy.
The opposing contenders Arun-Aparna tried to rise on their toes by placing 16 points on the scoreboard but Habib and Pia put their expedition to halt.
They dazzled their opponents with their lustrous performance in the later part of the set and bagged the crucial match point with scoreboard flashing decisive figures 21-16 at the end.
The last Indian hope was buried in the decider when the champ Indonesian duo sealed the victory with a significant margin of 21-7.
This was the end of road for India in mixed doubles event as its other pairs had already crashed out of Vietnam International Challenge.
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