Vietnamese badminton ace Nguyen Tien Minh shrugged off Thai Thammasin
Sitthikom’s confidence and determination in the first set to claim the
match in straight sets.
The victory gave Vietnam’s No 1 player a
place in the second round at the Yonex Sunrise Vietnam GP Open 2014 at
the Phan Dinh Phung Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City and kept him on
track to win a record five titles.
Minh, seeded only third at the
tournament after falling sharply to 30th place in the world rankings,
faces Mahbub Thomi Azizan of Indonesia in the second round on September
3. Azizan beat Vietnamese Nguyen Dinh Tuan Kiet 21-13, 21-15 in the
first round.
The 31-year-old seemed to have not yet recovered
from his long flight back from the World Badminton Championship in
Denmark, where he failed to defend his bronze medal following an exit at
the third round. He had a rusty start, trailing early in the first set.
Unseeded Sitthikom looked composed and confident in the early stages of
the first set and led throughout most of the set.
However,
Minh, who did not expect a tough match, tied the score 15-15 by stepping
up 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 to
surrender the set at 21-17.
The second half was the complete
opposite, with Minh claiming the set at 21-7 after just half of the time
he needed to beat the opponent in the first set.
It was a set
showcasing Minh’s typical playing style with quick shots, quick
movements and lightning powerful smashes. Sitthikom was unable to
maintain his accuracy.
Minh’s potential semi-final opponent, top
seed Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka from Indonesia, proved his title
credibility by making light work of his first round with a crushing
21-10, 21-5 win over Malaysian Wei Jian Ai.
Other seeded players,
Ajay Jayaram of India and Mohammad Arif Abdul Latif of Malaysia, also
had their names on the list for the second round.-VNA