West Coast U19: Kendell Burden and Antony Barlow defeat Kate Gourdie and James Alexander Kynaston
New Zealand’s upcoming shuttlers Kendell Burden and Antony Barlow shut the mouths of critics when they showed their elevated skills and overpowered Kate Gourdie and James Alexander Kynaston in Mixed Doubles showdown at 2012 West Coast U19 on Saturday, June
23, in New Zealand.
The un-seeded Kendell and Antony had to dig into their arsenal to chuck out their talented team-mates in an entertaining contest that revealed the inspiring talent of both sides.
Kendell and Antony were impressive in the opening game but lost their domination in the following set. However, they found their way back in the deciding game and defeated their rivals in rubber games with a decent margin.
On the other hand, Kate and Kynaston started their run in the contest in a quivering manner and lost the game. However, they showed their class in the second set and grabbed it to stretch the battle to a decider. But they failed to live up to the expectations
in the final set and lost the match with a reasonable difference on the board.
The opening set was a nightmare for Kate and Kynaston who could not match the speed and aggression of Kendell and Antony and remained far behind on the board until the one-minute interval.
After the break, the in-form Kendell and Antony did not lose their focus and continued playing attacking badminton. They executed powerful smashes and impressive blocking shots to wrap up the first set with a striking margin of 21-12.
In the following game, Kate and Kynaston played positive and planned badminton this time as they did not repeat their mistakes. They remained close to their country-mates until the 60-second break in second set.
After the break, Kendell and Antony tried to maintain their aggressive run but failed to shake the defence of their opponents and eventually lost the set with a respectable score of 18-21.
In the deciding set, both couples displayed their impressive craft and played safe badminton until the mid-game interval.
After the break, Kendell and Antony occupied the driving seat by controlling the bird at net and managed to win the set with a superb 21-16 score on the board.
Kendell and Antony registered a tremendous victory over Kate and Kynaston in rubber games by an interesting margin of 21-12, 18-21 and 21-16.
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