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Indonesian women’s, mixed doubles progress to semifinal
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Indonesia's Liliyana Natsir (right) hits a return as teammate Tantowi Ahmad (left) looks on against Hong Kong's Lee Chun-hei and Chau Hoi-wah during their mixed doubles quarterfinal badminton match at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on Saturday. The Indonesian pair won 21-15, 17-21, 21-16. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
T
he Indonesia badminton team has kept its medal hopes alive at the 18th Asian Games after securing two spots in the semifinals of the women’s and mixed doubles on Saturday.
The number four seeded pair Greysia Polii and Apriani Rahayu started the day in style, winning a dramatic three game match against Tang Jinhua and Zheng Yu of China in the women’s doubles quarterfinal.
Greysia and Apriani lost the first game 18-21, before redeeming themselves in the second, coming from behind to win 24-22. They then dominated the final game 21-16 to win the match 2-1.
“I am grateful for this achievement but I’m not yet satisfied. There’s still tomorrow, and we need to fight [for a spot in the final]. I need to maintain my focus [for the rest of the competition],” Apriani said.
Greysia and Apriani will go up against Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takashi of Japan to win a spot in the final. The Japanese pair leads the Indonesian pair in their head to head matchups, winning five of their six encounters.
The world number three mixed doubles pair Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir followed in their compatriot’s footsteps by beating Hong Kong’s Lee Chun Hei Reginald and Chau Hoi Wah 21-15, 17-21 and 21-16 to book a place in the semifinal.
The home crowd’s support played an important role in the match, motivating the Indonesians to play better, Tontowi said after the match.
Tontowi and Liliyana are on a mission to win their first Asian Games’ gold after failing to realize their goal four years ago, losing to China’s Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei in the final.
They will face number one seed pair Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China in the semifinal. (dic)
