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Veteran RI shuttlers Ahsan, Hendra reunite at India Open
Deadly duo: Hendra Setiawan (front) returns the shuttlecock alongside partner Mohammad Ahsan during their opener against home pair Krishna Prasad Garaga and Dhruv Kapila at the 2018 India Open in New Delhi
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span class="inline inline-center">Deadly duo: Hendra Setiawan (front) returns the shuttlecock alongside partner Mohammad Ahsan during their opener against home pair Krishna Prasad Garaga and Dhruv Kapila at the 2018 India Open in New Delhi. The reunited Indonesian pair won 25-23, 21-9.(Courtesy of PBSI)
Veteran Indonesian shuttlers Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan reunited as a men’s doubles pair at the 2018 India Open on Wednesday, winning their opener 25-23, 21-9 against host pair Krishna Prasad Garaga and Dhruv Kapila.
In the opening 28 minutes of the match, the pair, who reuinted for the first time since the 2016 Korea Open, had yet to find their groove, as they made some unforced errors.
As reported by badmintonindonesia.org, the two-time world championship winners held a narrow 21-20 lead after dropping three points in a row at 20-17. Thanks to their experience, however, they pulled off a 25-23 win in the first game.
“The beginning [of the game] was not easy. We were not really prepared,” said Hendra after the match, their first of the US$350,000 tournament.
Ahsan acknowledged that they did not properly measure their opponents in the first-round opening game.
“The most important thing is that we are still committed to working hard. We should believe in ourselves. We want to focus on ourselves and do not want to think about the competition with young players who also have good skills,” Ahsan said.
Ahsan and Hendra, who have won prestigious titles such as All England and Asian Games gold medals, said they missed playing together in international tournaments.
They now face world number 13 third-seeds Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Taiwan. The Taiwanese young guns defeated Indian pair Kapil Chaudhary and Brijesh Yadav handily in straight games 21-9, 21-8.
Earlier in the day, first-seeds Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon outclassed Danish pair Kasper Antonsen and Niclas Nohr 21-13, 21-16. Kevin and Marcus, who secured the Indonesian Masters title last week, will face Tinn Isriyanet and Kittisak Namdash of Thailand in the second round.
Women’s doubles duo Della Destiara Haris and Rizki Amelia Pradipta also made it to the second round. The fifth-seeds defeated Indian pair Deeksha Choudhary and Deepali Gupta 21-9, 21-8.
Mixed doubles duo Hafiz Faisal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjadja failed to secure a spot in the second round after losing to eighth-seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Reddy N. Sikky of India in rubber games 21-16, 17-21, 17-21.
