Zvonimir Durkinjak, Stasa Poznanovic excel in 2012 Yonex Hungarian International Championships
Mixed Doubles campaigners Zvonimir Durkinjak and Stasa Poznanovic of Croatia forged a fruitful chemistry to raise the trophy in the 37th Yonex Hungarian International Championships on November 4, 2012.
They were up against the Czech Republic’s Jakub Bitman-Alzbeta Basova in the final round and this crucial battle kept them head-to-head for 30 minutes before ending with 21-16 and 21-18 margin.
Despite of the absence of native shuttlers in the grand finale, a decent number of spectators assembled to encourage both teams at the local badminton complex of Budaors, Hungary.
Both contenders put a commendable show of skills and entertained the crowd throughout this straight-set match.
The battle heated up straight away in the beginning of the first set as the twosome of Zvonimir and Stasa unleashed a flurry of well paced strokes and confined their rivals in the rear court.
They employed interesting tactics and confounded the opposing team with a fine blend of power packed smashes and masterly crafted drop net shots.
In first half of the set, the Croatian players played with an authoritative approach and established a strong grip with a notable figure of 11 before the interval.
Though, Jakub and Alzbeta made every effort to tip the scale in their favour but luck was not on their side.
They prevailed in a couple of uninterrupted rallies immediately after the break but their fluctuated performance proved the biggest hurdle in their way to success.
On the other hand, Zvonimir and Stasa did not lose focus in the pressure situation and served notice of their supremacy with an overwhelming score of 21-16.
The second set kept swinging between both teams all the way to game point situation as they pushed each other in all areas of the court.
Initially, the Czech duo was in commanding position but then opposing team showed a transformed character and sealed a straight-set victory.
Jakub and Alzbeta dominated overall pace of the rallies in the beginning and gained a significant advantage but the Croatian campaigners put their expedition to halt in second half of the set.
The underrated but talented pair Zvonimir-Stasa registered their class with a staggering knock of 21-18 and earned the right to raise Mixed Doubles trophy.
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