Vietnam Open Grand Prix: Muhammad Hafiz Hashim works hard to beat Adi Pratama in first round
Malaysia’s experienced player, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim had to dig deep into his reserves to oust Indonesia’s Adi Pratama in the Men’s Singles first round of the 2011 Vietnam Open Grand Prix, at Ho Chih Minh city, in Vietnam, on Tuesday, August 23.
Hafiz Hashim, who has an extensive experience of international badminton and currently has the world ranking of Number 53, struggled against the Indonesian who played aggressive badminton in the whole match. Hafiz Hashim, who is the eighth seed in the Men’s
Singles draw of the event, took three sets to beat Pratama by taking 44 minutes of court time.
The first game of the match went in the favour of the Malaysian who showed his class by playing flawless badminton. He was on the driving set in the first set and spared no chance for the Indonesian to dominate the pace of the game. He maintained pressure
on his rival and won the first game with a big difference of 21-12, in just 14 minutes.
However, Pratama delivered a stunning performance in the second game by changing his tactics. He started to dominate the rallies by playing attacking badminton. His fast speed at the net and superb defensive strokes helped him in getting a stronger position
in the second set. Hafiz Hashim became a little slower in the second set which cost him the game with a 16-21 margin, in 16 minutes.
Stung by the loss of the second set, Hafiz Hashim played aggressive badminton in the third game of this Men’s Singles fight. He relied on his semi-smashes this time which worked well and he remained successful in creating gaps to place his powerful strokes.
At the one-minute interval in the set, the Malaysian was ahead at 11-7.
After the break, Hafiz Hashim remained on the right track by playing with precision against Pratama who failed to play positive badminton and started to commit unforced errors. The Malaysian grabbed the final set with a comfortable margin of 21-13, in just
14 minutes. The final score of this 44-minute contest was 21-12, 16-21 and 21-13.
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