Vietnamese badminton ace Nguyen Tien Minh shrugged off Thai ThammasinSitthikom's confidence and determination in the first set to claim thematch in straight sets.
The victory gave Vietnam's No 1 player aplace in the second round at the Yonex Sunrise Vietnam GP Open 2014 atthe Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City and kept him ontrack to win a record five titles.
Minh, seeded only third at thetournament after falling sharply to 30th place in the world rankings,faces Mahbub Thomi Azizan of Indonesia in the second round on September3. Azizan beat Vietnamese Nguyen Dinh Tuan Kiet 21-13, 21-15 in thefirst round.
The 31-year-old seemed to have not yet recoveredfrom his long flight back from the World Badminton Championship inDenmark, where he failed to defend his bronze medal following an exit atthe third round. He had a rusty start, trailing early in the first set.Unseeded Sitthikom looked composed and confident in the early stages ofthe first set and led throughout most of the set.
However,Minh, who did not expect a tough match, tied the score 15-15 by steppingup his efforts. Upping his game with quick shots and powerful smashes,the Vietnamese player won four successive points to lead 19-15.Sitthikom pulled back two points before hitting the shuttle out tosurrender the set at 21-17.
The second half was the completeopposite, with Minh claiming the set at 21-7 after just half of the timehe needed to beat the opponent in the first set.
It was a setshowcasing Minh's typical playing style with quick shots, quickmovements and lightning powerful smashes. Sitthikom was unable tomaintain his accuracy.
Minh's potential semi-final opponent, topseed Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka from Indonesia, proved his titlecredibility by making light work of his first round with a crushing21-10, 21-5 win over Malaysian Wei Jian Ai.
Other seeded players,Ajay Jayaram of India and Mohammad Arif Abdul Latif of Malaysia, alsohad their names on the list for the second round.-VNA
The victory gave Vietnam's No 1 player aplace in the second round at the Yonex Sunrise Vietnam GP Open 2014 atthe Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City and kept him ontrack to win a record five titles.
Minh, seeded only third at thetournament after falling sharply to 30th place in the world rankings,faces Mahbub Thomi Azizan of Indonesia in the second round on September3. Azizan beat Vietnamese Nguyen Dinh Tuan Kiet 21-13, 21-15 in thefirst round.
The 31-year-old seemed to have not yet recoveredfrom his long flight back from the World Badminton Championship inDenmark, where he failed to defend his bronze medal following an exit atthe third round. He had a rusty start, trailing early in the first set.Unseeded Sitthikom looked composed and confident in the early stages ofthe first set and led throughout most of the set.
However,Minh, who did not expect a tough match, tied the score 15-15 by steppingup his efforts. Upping his game with quick shots and powerful smashes,the Vietnamese player won four successive points to lead 19-15.Sitthikom pulled back two points before hitting the shuttle out tosurrender the set at 21-17.
The second half was the completeopposite, with Minh claiming the set at 21-7 after just half of the timehe needed to beat the opponent in the first set.
It was a setshowcasing Minh's typical playing style with quick shots, quickmovements and lightning powerful smashes. Sitthikom was unable tomaintain his accuracy.
Minh's potential semi-final opponent, topseed Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka from Indonesia, proved his titlecredibility by making light work of his first round with a crushing21-10, 21-5 win over Malaysian Wei Jian Ai.
Other seeded players,Ajay Jayaram of India and Mohammad Arif Abdul Latif of Malaysia, alsohad their names on the list for the second round.-VNA
