Wang Zhengming ousts Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif to clear second-round test: Indonesia Open GP Gold
China’s elite shutter, Wang Zhengming passed a severe test as he had to dig deep into his reserves to beat Malaysia’s emerging shuttler, Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif in the Men’s Singles second round of the Indonesia Open GP Gold, in East Kalimantan, Indonesia,
on September 29.
Zhengming, who is currently ranked at World Number 17 spot, escaped from a heart-breaking defeat from the hands of a lower ranked Malaysian opponent, who played with wonderful courage throughout the contest. Both shuttlers put up a remarkable show of attacking
and positive badminton to entertain the crowd with their elite skills.
The higher ranked Chinese shuttler lost the opening game against the Malaysian but fought back to clinch the remaining two sets with a considerable margin. Arif Latif played well in the first game but failed to continue his winning run and lost the following
two sets.
In the first set of this second round match, the Malaysian opened the game in an incredible manner as he played with great speed. He set up a good lead in the starting points and maintained it in the whole game. Until the break, the positive and attacking
game earned the Malaysian a comfortable lead of 11-7.
After the interval, Zhengming accelerated his speed to reduce the difference but his rival was playing flawless badminton. The Chinese lost the first set in just 15 minutes with a big difference of 14-21.
Zhengming played to his maximum potential in the second set and took a good advantage in the start. He continued his positive play in the whole set against Arif Latif, who lost his focus in this game. The Chinese levelled the match by grabbing the second
game in just 14 minutes with a margin of 21-12.
In the third set of this close fight, both players progressed equally until the match entered into the second-half of the third game. The experienced Chinese played safe badminton at this stage and emerged as the winner with a 21-16 margin in 19 minutes.
The overall result of this fabulous match was 14-21, 21-12 and 21-16.
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