Nanning, China (ANTARA) - Indonesian women's doubles pair Greysia Polii-Apriyani Rahayu brought a fresh lease of hope for the Indonesian badminton national team after equalizing 2-2 over Taiwan in the 2019 Sudirman Cup quarter-finals, Nanning, China, Friday.
Greysia and Apriyani, currently ranked fifth, exuded confidence while playing against Taiwanese women's doubles pair Pai Yu Po/Wu Ti Jung, ranked 61st, in two games, with 21-13 21-7, lasting 35 minutes.
The Taiwanese pair's defense failed to level up to the pace and might of the Indonesian pair. Greysia and Apriyani volleyed a barrage of smash shots to beat the women's doubles pair whom they had met for the first time on the field.
The Taiwanese duo committed several blunders and failed to return the fast shots from the Indonesian pair that resulted in them loosing several points.
"We ventured on the field in high spirits to avoid being affected by the opponent pair's superiority. We channeled all our energies on the field," Greysia remarked after the match.
Greysia and Apriyani were aware of their opponents having a lower ranking but did not want to be rash in the match that determines the result.
"We have to stay on guard against our opponents, as anything can take place because this is a team match," she stated.
"We continued our attacking strategy since the start, but we did not want to quickly turn off our opponents," Apriyani remarked while speaking about the key to her victory today.
Earlier, in the Indonesian men's double opener, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo registered a 1-0 lead for Indonesia by defeating Taiwanese men's doubles pair Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin in two games, with 21-17, 21-17.
In the second match, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung tasted defeat against top-seeded player Tai Tzu Ying, 16-21, 14-21.
In the third match, Jonathan Christie underperformed and had to bow down to Taiwanese men's singles player Chou Tien Chen, 11-21 13-21.
Reporter: Eliswan Azly
Editor: Bambang Purwanto
