Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has succeeded in sending three representatives to compete in the 2019 Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament for the mixed doubles, men's doubles, and men's singles events.
The Garuda team's victory streak began in the mixed doubles event, with Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari defeating British pair Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith in three games, with a score of 19-21, 21-14, and 21-17.
This favorable outcome was also replicated by the doubles pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, who overthrew their teammates, Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira/Ade Yusuf Santoso, with a score of 21-10 and 21-17.
Shortly thereafter, a victory was also registered in the men's singles event, with Anthony Sinisuka Ginting toppling 2008 Beijing and London 2012 Olympic gold medalist Lin Dan from China in three games, with 14-21, 21-8, and 21-11.
In the semifinals, Rivaldy and Mentari will face the Chinese Taipei pair Lu Ching Yao/Lee Chia Hsin, while Alfian and Ardianto will face off against British pair Marcus Ellis/Chris Langridge, and Ginting will compete against Shi Yuqi from China.
Meanwhile, the men's doubles pair of Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan, who had recently won 2019 All England title, failed to advance to the semifinals after being defeated by Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin of Taiwan, with a score of 26-24, 7-21, and 12-21.
"We have tried to play to the best of our abilities, but it turns out that the opponents' preparation is better, and they are also still fresh," Ahsan noted as quoted by Antara via the badmintonindonesia.org website on Saturday.
Furthermore, Setiawan clarified that the defeat had nothing to do with the calf injury he had suffered but was purely due to the opponents being in a much better form.
"There were no problems with my calf injury. This defeat is indeed because the opponents appear to be better. Their power is bigger, defense is tight, the attack is hard, and we lost speed," Setiawan explained.
Even so, both remained grateful for the results obtained and vowed to continue to work on improving their performance, stamina, and strength to face the upcoming matches.
EDITED BY INE
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
