Wei Feng advances into pre quarter-finals of Malaysia Open GP Gold 2012 – Badminton News
Men’s Singles campaigner Wei Feng Chong of Malaysia surged into pre quarter-finals of Malaysia Open GP Gold by surpassing Kento Momota of Japan in the second round on May 3, 2012.
World Number 39 Wei Feng had a first round bye so he opened his marathon in second round but it was not a smooth ride for him as he had to wait for 60 minutes to read final results of 21-14, 18-21 and 22-20.
On the other hand, the unseeded Japanese shuttler earned a great deal of admiration for his retaliating spirit throughout this tussle.
In opening game, the Malaysian took some time to get on track as he remained equal until 8-8 score position but he gathered speed and placed a comfortable margin of 11-8 before the interval.
After mid-game break, Wei Feng played flawless badminton and pushed his opponent on back foot with some powerful rallies. He added six points in his total in just few minutes and reached at 17-10.
This seven-point lead made the difference in final stage of set and Wei Feng bagged first game with a decisive margin of 21-14.
However, the opposing candidate Kento Momota did not lose nerves after this loss as he showed strong character in very next game and levelled the lead.
The Japanese read his rival’s game properly and beat his moves even before they were made. He established a decent advantage with 8-5 total and maintained this edge with 11-9 until one-minute break.
Kento Momota dictated his opponent in later part of the game as well. Only one time he lost focus which allowed Wei Feng to catch him at 18-18 but then he earned three consecutive points and finished second set with a favourable margin of 21-18.
This 1-1 match score position made the spectators gasp as they were hoping local shuttler to overcome the lower ranked competitor in just two games.
The Malaysian shuttler had to sweat hard in the decider as his challenger put a great show of skills and pushed him all the way to game point situation.
However, Wei Feng wrapped the show with a tight yet decisive margin of 22-20 and setup a clash with his compatriot Goh Soon Huat in third round of the event.
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