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Indonesia's Ihsan gets through quarters in tough battle
Indonesian shuttler Ihsan Maulana Mustofa beat Englishman Rajiv Ouseph in the men’s singles quarterfinal of the BCA Indonesia Open badminton championship to secure a place in the final four of the US$900,000 tournament.
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Indonesian shuttler Ihsan Maulana Mustofa has booked a place in the semifinals of the BCA Indonesia Open badminton championship on Friday. (Kompas.com/Roderick Adrian Mozes)
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ndonesian shuttler Ihsan Maulana Mustofa beat Englishman Rajiv Ouseph in the men’s singles quarterfinal of the BCA Indonesia Open badminton championship to secure a place in the final four of the US$900,000 tournament.
Ihsan’s triumph in a tough 17-21, 21-12, 21-12 match on Friday night eased the disappointment of home spectators at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium who already witnessed two Indonesian pairs crash out that day. Indonesian mixed-doubles pair Alfian Eko Prasetya and Annisa Saufika and women’s duo Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah and Rizki Amelia Pradita were ousted earlier Friday afternoon.
The unseeded Ihsan said he was grateful with the win, revealing that his composure throughout the match greatly contributed to the victory.
Although he was hesitant in the first and second games, he later decided to take up an offensive approach in the third game.
“I decided to keep attacking him because I saw that he was already tired,” Ihsan told reporters in the post-match press conference.
Ihsan said that it was his coach who lifted his morale and turned out to be the key to nail the game.
The crowd also had helped him lift his spirit.
“I feel very thankful to the supporters as they gave me so much energy, especially when they kept shouting ‘eaaah’ during net duels. It made me want to keep smashing the shuttlecock,” he said jokingly.
Ihsan managed to get out of a tight situation as Rajiv early on had left behind the Indonesian on the scoreboard. However, he kept his head in the game and avoided to not making many unforced errors, he said.
Ihsan will take on the winner between former world champ Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Wang Zhengming of China, in the semifinals.
Ihsan said that he would take a “nothing to lose” attitude ahead of his next match.
“There’s no need to think about winning or losing. The most important thing is to play my best for every point,” Ihsan said. (dmr)
