New mixed doubles pair veteran Greysia Polii and junior player Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo advanced to the main round of the BCA Indonesia Open Metlife BWF Super Series Premier 2014 badminton tournament at Istora Senayan on Tuesday.

Greysia/Kevin, who are making their debut as a pair in the US$750,000 tournament, won 21-11, 16-21, 24-22 over Malaysia's Mohd Lutfi Zaim Abdul Khalid/Fie Cho Soong in their first match of the qualifying round.

They were assured of their main round ticket after recording their second win of the day over compatriots Fran Kurniawan/Keshya Nurvita Hanadia 19-21, 21-18, 21-15.

'We played without pressure because this is our first tournament as a pair. We only trained twice prior to this tournament,' Greysia told reporters after the matches. She added that she and her new partner only aimed to make it to the main round.

'Actually, today's matches were an interesting experience. It feels awkward playing in mixed doubles again after a few years focusing on the women's doubles. I was so awkward that I bumped into Kevin several times,' said Greysia, who will also play in the main round of the women's doubles with Nitya Krishinda Maheswari on Wednesday.

Greysia used to play mixed doubles with Muhammad Rijal in 2007 and last played with Tontowi Ahmad in 2010.

She praised Kevin as a young and talented player. 'He has such a unique style of play and a strong mentality. I think he is one of Indonesia's promising future players,' she added.

Other mixed doubles pairs who advanced to the main round were Alfian Eko Prasetya/Annisa Saufika, Nipitphon Puangpuapech/Puttita Supajirakul of Thailand and Takeshi Kamura/Shizuka Matsuo of Japan.

Pairing with Selvanus Geh in the men's doubles event, Kevin had passed the first obstacle in the first qualifying round after defeating Lukasz Moren/Wojciech Szkudlarczyk of Poland 21-10, 23-21, and crushed Malaysia's Jagdish Singh/Wee Long Roni Tan 19-21, 21-14, 21-15 to get their main round ticket.

'I played nothing-to-lose, but with a high fighting spirit. Besides our win in the New Zealand Open Grand Prix 2014 has boosted my confidence,' said Kevin who won the 2014 Vietnam International Challenge with Selvanus.

Despite their short period of partnership spanning only six months, Selvanus said they were already familiar with one another's playing style. 'We each can complete what the other lacks,' said the 19-year-old Selvanus.

In the men's singles event, Alamsyah Yunus made it to the next round after defeating Prannoy HS of India, followed by Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo who also won against Indian Sourabh Varma. Chen Yuekun of China and Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif made another two tickets.

In the women's singles, Adrianti Firdasari, Rusydina Antardayu Riodingin, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and Li Lian Yang of Malaysia also made it to the main round.

The women's doubles event saw Imogen Bankier/Kristy Gilmour obtain the first ticket to the main round, while the others were still competing late on Tuesday. (gda)

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