MALAYSIA OPEN 2011 Day 2 – Bao bows, Tago to go on

In a repeat of the 2010 All England semi-final, Japan’s Kenichi Tago once again defeated Bao Chunlai.  Bao became the first victim of Kenichi’s great fighting spirit.

By Lee Suet Yan, Badzine Correspondent live in Kuala Lumpur. Photos: Yves Lacroix for Badmintonphoto (live)

Japan’s Kenichi Tago (pictured) has struggled since his fairy-tale run to the All England Final last spring.  Dumped out of the Asian Championships by unseeded Wang Zhengming, that was his last semi-final result of the year.  But he started off the new year with a big win, one that was reminiscent of his day in the sun from 2010.

Kenichi was 18-20 down in the first game but he saved two game points before he drew level then had his first game point at 21-20 as Bao sent the shuttle wide after playing for a long rally. Kenichi’s brilliant net play gave him the edge against Bao, he wrapped up the game 22-20 with neat net play.

The second game was getting more and more intense as Bao needed to win it to get on track to avenge his loss in last year’s All England.  Bao started to be more aggressive and attack more, while Kenichi was diving all around the court to retrieve Bao’s shots. Kenichi’s diving skill worked well today, he led 11-10 at the second game interval. When Kenichi was leading at 19-18, Kenichi hit a few smashes on Bao, but Bao was able to convert the defense into an attack, and it was Bao’s turn to smash. Bao took a small lead and earned his first game point at 20-19. Both players tried to play long rallies with a lot of right and left volleying, but in a sudden, Kenichi smashed to the forehand of Bao, who could not return the shuttle, and Kenichi pulled level at 20-20. Then, at 21 all, Bao pushed a quick attack on the net to Kenichi’s body, but Kenichi was just lucky enough to return the shuttle. Bao did not expect Kenichi to return the shuttle, so, a match point was given to Kenichi 22-21. Finally, Kenichi maintained his momentum and edged ahead once more to take the second game 24-22. He was so excited after the match.

“I am a bit lucky today as Bao made many mistakes today,” said Kenichi after his victory against Bao Chunlai.  “I was confident I could beat Bao before the match as I defeated him once before. I will try to maintain today’s form for tomorrow, and I will try to win in tomorrow’s match.”

More blessings in mixed for Team Japan

Also, in the mixed doubles, Reiko Shiota / Shintaro Ikeda (pictured) brought victory to the Japanese team as they dumped out top seeds Sudket Prapakamol / Saralee Thoungthongkam in two tight games 22-20, 21-19. The Japanese pair’s sharp smashes, together with their brilliant defense, paid dividends for them in the match today. The ability to win the points for some long rallies increased the confidence of Reiko/Shintaro as well.

It was certainly a lucky and hard-won day for the Japanese in Stadium Putra today as several other players like Ai Goto, Kazushi Yamada, Kenta Kazuno/Misaki Matsutomo, also progressed into round 16 tomorrow.

For complete results from Day 2 of the 2011 Proton Malaysia Open Super Series, CLICK HERE