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Asian Games: Indonesia women’s badminton team bows down to Japan 3-1
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Mascot Asian Games Badminton (Courtesy of/Inasgoc)
T
he Indonesia women’s badminton team will have to settle for a bronze medal after losing to Asian powerhouse Japan 3-1 in the semifinals on Tuesday. Nineteen-year-old Gregoria Mariska Tunjung began the match by energizing the home crowd of hundreds after she defeated Akane Yamaguchi 21-16, 9-21, 21-18.
Gregoria, who holds a much lower world rank than Akane, had to battle hard in the third game, but her persistence prevailed.
“I’m grateful that I could play without thinking too much. Honestly, I didn’t think I could make it because I never competed with her before. Her rank is also higher than mine,” Gregoria said in the post-game presser.
However, Indonesia failed to score any more team points, with women’s doubles pair Greysia Polli and Apriyani Rahayu losing to world champions Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota 21-13, 21-12.
Indonesia women’s singles shuttler Fitriani lost to world number eight Nozomi Okuhara.
The team was officially eliminated after women’s doubles pair Rizki Amelia Pradipta and Della Destiara Haris lost to world number twos Misaki Matsumoto and Ayaka Takahashi 21-13, 21-10.
Susy Susanti, the head of sports development at the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), applauded Japan’s performance.
The higher-ranked Japan side outperformed the Indonesians, she said.
