I

ndonesian favorite mixed doubles pair Liliyana Natsir/Tontowi Ahmad failed to advance to the final round of the 2014 BCA Indonesia Open Superseries Premier following their defeat to Chinese team Xu
Chen/Ma Jin in the semifinal onSaturday.

Xu Chen/Ma Jin beat the host team 18-21, 21-12 and 21-15 at the Istora Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Liliyana, popularly called "Butet", said the reason she and Tontowi hadfailed was because they did not find a turning point to increase their score inthe third set.

"The Chinese team was successful in reading our tactics. We knew that when they managed to foil most of our efforts to counterattack them in the third set," she said at a press conference after the game.

Meanwhile, Tontowi said he had never won a game against Xu Chen/Ma Jin at the Istora Stadium, even though he could not explain the reason. He said the great atmosphere created by Indonesian
spectators at the stadium had also affected his performance, which he claimed added to the burden of trying to win the game.

"It feels different when I play at tournaments abroad, such as the All England. However, I should learn from that, because that means I should prepare my mental and physical condition regardless of the venue," he added.

In a separate press conference, Xu Chen said he and his partner failed in the first set due to a failure to comprehend their rivals' strategy, which they overcame in the second and third sets. He was convinced that he and Ma Jin had managed to take control of the game from the second set.

"We also saw that the Indonesian pair was showing a decrease in stamina. The situation was good for us as a turning point," he said.

Xu Chen/Ma Jin were one of Liliyana/Tontowi's biggest rivals after the Chinese pair defeated the Indonesian team eight times out of the 13 games they had played in the past. Tontowi/Liliyana beat Xu/Ma at the 2013 World Championship, but lost to them at the 2013 BWF World Super
Series Finals and the 2014 Malaysia Open.

"I feel that today's game against Liliyana/Tontowi was not much different than our previous games, but they had a better defense this time," Chen said.

Chen/Jin is scheduled to face Danish pair J. Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen in the final round on Sunday, after the latter beat South Korean mixed doubles favorites Lee Young-dae/Shin
Seung-chan in the semifinal on Saturday evening.

Chen said both Danish and Korean pairs had different difficulties, but he and Ma Jin would maintain their stamina and prepare their best strategy. (gda)