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Asian Games: Indonesian women’s team cruises to semis
Indonesian women shuttlers reached the semifinals of the team category of the Asian Games.
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Indonesia’s Rahayu Apriyani (L) and Greysia Polii (R) hit a return against Hong Kong's Ng Tsz You and Yuen Sin Ying in their doubles match during the women's team badminton competition at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on August 19, 2018. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
T
he Indonesian badminton team has secured a spot in the group stage of the women’s category after a tough and exhausting fight on Monday where it defeated South Korea 3-1. The team is set to face the Asian powerhouse Japan on Tuesday.
The quarterfinals were opened with an outstanding performance of 19-year-old Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who outwitted the world's ninth best, Sung Ji-hyun, 21-13 in the first round due to a rash of errors made by Sung.
Gregoria mesmerized spectators with her straight and powerful shots throughout the first round.
Contrary to the first round, Gregoria trailed Sung in the second round as the latter seemed to be able to read her playing style. Her performance declined with a couple of her shots hitting the net, resulting in her loss 18-21 to Sung.
Gaining energy from hundreds of spectators who shouted endlessly throughout the match, Gregoria finally stole the third round 21-18.
When asked about the strategy, Gregoria recalled she relied mostly on her agility.
"I move faster because I knew that she [Sung] would keep attacking," Gregoria said.
Bathed in sweat, Sung applauded her opponent after the game.
"She played well. It was hard to beat her," she said.
Another intense match was shown during the match between women’s doubles pair Greysia Polli-Apriyani Rahayu and pair Lee So-hee and Shin Heung-chan.
The game, which was interrupted by a technical glitch on scoring boards, was tight with a series of long rallies.
The world number four in women’s doubles, Greysia and Apriyani, made unnecessary mistakes on their own, but they redeemed themselves by winning 21-18, 21-17.
Indonesia failed to extend its lead with singles shuttler Fitriani losing to Lee Se-yeon 14-21, 21-8, 12-21.
It was then women’s doubles pair Rizki Amelia Pradipta-Della Destiara Haris, who eventually paved the way for Indonesia to compete in the semifinals.
Gregoria, Greysia and Apriyani, who were sitting on the tribune, boosted the pair’s spirits by chanting “good job” and “semangat [keep the spirit]”.
The world number 10 defeated Korean pair Baek Ha-na and Lee Yu-lim 21-19, 21-15 in an intense match.
During the game, the Korean pair capitalized on several errors made by Rizki and Della. Fortunately, the Korean pair also made similar mistakes, helping Rizki and Della secure the game.
Rizki said their strategy to win the game rested on their preparedness to handle the Korean pairs’ long shots.
She added she had nothing to lose in the semifinals.
“The Japanese team is strong. They always play safe,” she said.
Rizki said she was committed to giving her best performance in the semifinals.
