Yao Lik Chun ousts Sam Dobbs in Men’s Singles tie of 2012 NZ Secondary Schools Championships
Men’s Singles campaigner Yao Lik Chun of Hutt Valley High fetched a vital match point for his team after beating Sam Dobbs in NZCT NZ Secondary Schools Championships on September 5, 2012.
This showdown, held at local badminton arena of Christchurch in New Zealand, lasted for three hard fought games before ending with 19-21, 21-3 and 21-8 margin.
Sam Dobbs, who was playing for Lincoln High, disappointed by putting a below par performance in crucial moments of the battle.
On the other hand, Lik Chun performed beyond expectations and blew away his rival with a gutsy performance in the last two games.
The opening set of match kept both shuttlers head-to-head all the way to game point situation and they had to put an extra effort throughout this nerve-racking set.
In first half of the set, Lik Chun looked a bit confused as he committed some unforced errors and dropped many valuable points.
He could not read his challenger’s strategy and allowed him to establish a comfortable lead straight away in the beginning.
Sam relished full benefits of this situation and placed the bird in the right areas. He mounted pressure with four successive points and then doubled the impact by prevailing in a couple of back-to-back rallies.
However, a dramatic change was seen just before the interval as Lik Chun showed transformed character and narrowed the gap at mid-game break.
Both shuttlers remained close on points table in third quarter of the set as neither of them could make a notable difference.
They snapped at each other’s heels all the way to final moments and this cliff-hanging tussle ended when Sam tipped the scale in his favour with 21-19 margin.
The second set completely changed the scenario as Lik Chun stunned his opponent with a strong reply.
This time he employed all of his brilliance in the game and proved himself superior technically and tactically. He maintained a convincing lead and finished this set with an overwhelming figure of 21-3.
Third set was just a replay of the previous one as Lik Chun continued with his top form and locked the honour with an impressive knock of 21-8.
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