Great effort Justin! Yet in many so-called "badminton fans" here, they only treat a China-less match (even a so so quality) as high-quality one.... just look at how quite the forum was during this match... what a pathetic sport badminton is.... wish this sport will not die too soon... thanks to true heart fans like you....
Simon threatening to outclass Sourabh. But, be careful, if Sourabh can somehow force the decider, then Simon could be stretched to the limit in fitness.
Simon tries to force the issue by taking more initiative...and Sourabh is creeping up. Perhaps Simon should stick to his patient manoeuvring game, construct the rally before launching the attack. With Sourabh throwing everything back at Simon, that might tire the latter out.
Unbelievable....despite leading 12-5, Simon was overturned by the Indian player who appears fitter today. 15-21 in the first-set. Nothing seems to work for Simon in the past 15 mins...winning only 3 pts.
The 1st 3rd and the last 3rd of the set are so different in character. Simon seems to have lost steam and some confidence, as when he netted an easy put-away at 15-19. But I still think Simon can make his maturity and experience count in G2 at least.
Simon really makes it hard for himself as he tried to once again engage in an attacking style against Sourabh Varma when in fact a simpler approach would have sufficed. As a result, he nearly let the Indian closed in to within 3 pts from 16-6 to 18-15. Luckily, he won the second-set 21-16.
Chinese Names It irks me every time the foreign commentators call players with Chinese names in the wrong order. Never mind about their pronounciation, which often can be an embarrassment They think it is right to call the surname or first name last as is their practice in the West. But to the Chinese, the surname is more important and should be called first. One would think that only foreign organisers are not well-informed, but look at the following schedule for today's final: [TABLE="class: ruler matches"] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][/TD] [TD]1.[/TD] [TD]Starting at 2:00 PM[/TD] [TD]WD [/TD] [TD="align: right"][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Yu Xiaohan [5][/TD] [TD][CHN] [/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Huang Yaqiong[/TD] [TD][CHN] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD="align: center"]-[/TD] [TD][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][CHN] [/TD] [TD]Dongni Ou[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CHN] [/TD] [TD]Mengjing Xiong[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD]22-20 12-21 21-18[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #F8F8F8"] [TD][/TD] [TD]2.[/TD] [TD]Followed by[/TD] [TD]WS [/TD] [TD="align: right"][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Xue Yao [2][/TD] [TD][CHN] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD="align: center"]-[/TD] [TD][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: #F8F8F8"] [TD][INA] [/TD] [TD]Adrianti Firdasari[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD]21-18 21-8[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][/TD] [TD]3.[/TD] [TD]Followed by[/TD] [TD]MS [/TD] [TD="align: right"][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Simon Santoso [15][/TD] [TD][INA] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD="align: center"]-[/TD] [TD][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][IND] [/TD] [TD]Sourabh Varma [8][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][/TD] [TD]4.[/TD] [TD]Followed by[/TD] [TD]XD [/TD] [TD="align: right"][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Praveen Jordan[/TD] [TD][INA] [/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Debby Susanto[/TD] [TD][INA] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD="align: center"]-[/TD] [TD][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][CHN] [/TD] [TD]Lu Kai[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][CHN] [/TD] [TD]Huang Yaqiong[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][/TD] [TD]5.[/TD] [TD]Followed by[/TD] [TD]MD [/TD] [TD="align: right"][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Danny Bawa Chrisnanta[/TD] [TD][SIN] [/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="align: right"]Chayut Triyachart[/TD] [TD][SIN] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [TD="align: center"]-[/TD] [TD][TABLE] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][MAS] [/TD] [TD]V Shem Goh [2][/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD][MAS] [/TD] [TD]Khim Wah Lim[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] 1. While Yu and Huang's surnames are correctly placed first, their opponents' surnames are placed last. 2. Yao Xue's name is shown as Xue Yao. Surely many Chinese will find it odd to be called the other way round. 5. Even Goh V Shem and Lim Khim Wah's names are in the wrong order. And I presume they were done by locals. Local organisers should set the standard of making sure that the Chinese (and even Korean) names are correctly spelt and in the right order as umpires and commentators will use them accordingly.
It's a tense and absorbing 3rd set as Sourabh Varma leads 11-10. Simon must use all his experience to take this match.
Simon is using his experience to great advantage but became erratic once Varma is able to retrieve his shots in especially a long rally. Simon was saved by a disputable baseline shot by Varma which I thought fell on the line. No challenge as this is only a GPG.
Simon Santoso really has to dig deep into his experience to win the match 15-21, 21-16, 21-19. Sourabh was leading 19-18 before Simon decided to be aggressive and won 3 pts in a row to grab his first title as an independent player.
Simon moving his young opponent all over the court with well-placed shots and biding his time to go for the kill.
A triumph for experience and, I must say, fighting spirit too. Congrats, Simon Santoso, the MS Champion of the MAS Open GPG'14.
