Wang Zhengming sends Taufik Hidayat packing in round-of-16 at the 2011 Singapore Open Super Series
China’s rising shuttler, Wang Zhengming has sent Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat packing in the Men’s Singles round-of-16 clash at the 2011 Singapore Open Super Series, in Singapore City, on June 16, 2011.
World Number 20, Zhengming, delivered a stunning performance against the top seed Indonesian in a thrilling fight of three sets, which took 59 minutes of top-class badminton.
In the opening set, the World Number Three, Taufik, who is also the top seed in the event, played a somewhat shaky game. At the interval, the Chinese was dominating the game with an 11-8 lead.
Zhengming continued his stunning display in the second game and extended his lead to put the Indonesian under pressure. He remained composed and finished the first set by a 21-16 margin in just 17 minutes.
The second game of this round-of-16 match was quite interesting in the start, as both players opened their campaign at the same level. The crowd went crazy with the superb drives, along with powerful smashes of both shuttlers, who were tied at 5-5. Zhengming
scored two consecutive points to take a lead, but failed to maintain it as Taufik levelled the score at 8-8.
The top seed Indonesian employed his extensive experience and was successful in taking a slight lead of 11-10 at the interval. Taufik controlled the pace of the rallies by playing a safe game against the aggressive Chinese and reached 16-14.
In the concluding phase of the second set, Taufik played better badminton and clinched the game with a narrow difference of 22-20, in 23 minutes.
The crowd in the stadium could not have asked for better contest, as the deciding set of this fascinating fight was very interesting where both players reached 10-10. At this crucial stage, the Indonesian got a one-point advantage at 11-10.
After the break, the Chinese became aggressive and scored four consecutive points to reach at 14-11. Taufik tried to cope up with the speed of the Chinese but failed to control the bird and lost the final set in 19 minutes by a 21-13 score. The 59-minute
ended with a 21-16, 20-22 and 21-13 margin.
In the quarter-final, Zhengming will fight against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, who thrashed Bao Chunlai of China in the pre-quarter-final battle.
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