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Praveen, Debby enjoy easy start at Australian Open
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Indonesia’s mixed doubles Debby Susanto (left) serves while her partner, Praveen Jordan, looks on during their first round match of the Australian Open against Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan in Sydney on Wednesday. The Indonesians won the match. (PBSI/PBSI)
P
raveen Jordan and Debby Susanto, Indonesia’s second-best mixed doubles pair in badminton, made amends for their previous poor performance by clinching their first win in the Australian Open Super Series opener in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday.
Seventh-seeded pair Praveen and Debby, who exited early in last week’s Indonesia Open, outclassed non-seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan 21-11, 21-19 in 38 minutes.
After effortlessly winning the first game, the Indonesians faced greater challenges in the second game. The Japanese duo, who were left behind at 17-12, worked hard to catch up to their opponents and managed to reach 17-17. However, Praveen and Debby remained calm to push forward and end the match victoriously.
“There were moments when we got carried away by [the Japanese pair’s] play. But, we decided to keep communicating and remind each other to be patient and stay focused,” Debby said in a statement, revealing the key to the victory.
While Praveen and Debby advanced to the second round, 2017 Indonesia Open champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir ended their Australian journey after losing 21-17, 21-16 to Malaysia’s Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing in the Wednesday’s first round.
On Thursday, Praveen and Debby will face Singapore’s Yong Kai Terry Hee and Tan Wei Han.
“We have to be aware of Hee’s quick shots,” Debby said.
