BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
Erisco Asuncion, of the United States of America who made headlines yesterday when he beat Nigeria’s Segun Obasanjo in the ongoing 7th edition of the Lagos Badminton Classic, has been sent packing from the tournament.
Asuncion, ranked 114, suffered defeat today in the hands of Latheesh Bharath, ranked 298, of the UAE in a heated match played in court 3 of the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Latheesh who won by 2-1 in a close encounter took the lead by 21-17 in the first game, but the American leveled up in the second game with a 18-21 win to take the game to a final clash where Latheesh won by 21-15 to progress to the next stage while the American suffered the defeat that ended his hope of progressing in the championship.
Satisfied with the game and the environment, Erisco Asuncion who is the only American who entered for this tournament still had something positive words to say despite his exit from the competition.
“I think it was a good match, we played three sets and it was some good rise and long rallies” Erisco told this writer. “The venue is good, the officials and everything are great”. “I think it was just the latter part and I had so many errors, but now I am out of the competition”.
The 7th edition of the Lagos Badminton Classic continues and expectations will remain high as athletes who have entered for the event with hopes of winning to increase their ranking might still face upset.