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Indonesia loses 1-3, fails to advance to final
Indonesia was forced to abandon its efforts to win a second Sudirman Cup trophy after it lost to defending champion China 1-3 in the semifinals in Dongguan, China, on Saturday
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ndonesia was forced to abandon its efforts to win a second Sudirman Cup trophy after it lost to defending champion China 1-3 in the semifinals in Dongguan, China, on Saturday.
Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan put Indonesia in front after they beat archrivals Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng 21-16, 21-17, but Bellaetrix Mannuputty conceded her game due to injury.
She was leading 5-3 in the opening game when she injured her left knee, according to a media release from the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).
'This is bad luck for Bella and the team,' team chief Achmad Budiharto said.
China won the third tie through Chen Long, who defeated Jonatan Christie 21-10, 21-15.
The hosts wrapped up the encounter with makeshift pair Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang eking out a 17-21, 21-17, 21-15 win over Asian Games champions Greysia Polii and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari.
Nitya said they were struggling against the breeze of the air conditioner in the stadium.
'In the second game we continued to press them like we did in the first game, but the wind made it difficult for us to break through,' she said.
Greysia conceded their restraint deserted them. 'We gave all we had. It's probably a matter of composure on the court,' she said.
It seemed Tang and Yu had been recently paired as part of the Chinese strategy to deal with Nitya and Greysia.
'We have played all the Chinese pairs at this tournament, except this one. That may be part of their strategy,' Greysia said.
Nitya and Greysia ruled out suggestions that they might have been under psychological pressure during the game.
'Despite the [1-2] score we never felt a burden from the start. We just tried to make points,' Nitya said.
The fifth tie, which would have pitted Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir against Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, was not played.
The defeat buried Indonesia's dream of a second trophy to add to its first trophy won in the inaugural tournament back home in 1989 when it beat South Korea 3-2 in the final.
Indonesia has since reached the final only times only to end up as runner-up in 1991, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2005 and 2007.
China is looking for its 10th win. It will face either Korea or Japan, which were still playing semifinal matches late Saturday.
