ALL ENGLAND 2013 QF – Indonesian success in the mixed doubles

Indonesia are having a good year as both Rijal / Susanto and siblings Kido / Bernadeth progress to the semi-finals of the Yonex All England.

By Michael Burke, Badzine Correspondent, live from Birmingham.  Photos: Yohan Nonotte for Badmintonphoto (live).

Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto (pictured left) secured by far the biggest win of their career as the beat first seeds Xu Chen / Ma Jin (pictured below) of China to progress to the semi-finals of the Yonex All England. The pair’s previous best result was at the victory in the Yonex Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold last year, and also the final of the Yonex Japan Open in 2012 for Rijal who was then playing with Liliyana Natsir.

The Chinese played a strong first game taking an early 9-3 lead, only to have it reeled back in by the Indonesians. Untroubled however, they showed their experience to control with a solid smash attack, taking the first game 21-16.

An even second game saw the Indonesians force a rubber game as they raced away after the mid game interval as the Chinese committed uncharacteristic errors and the Indonesians dominated the net play.

Xu / Ma could not convert an early lead in the third game, and whilst they smashed better, the Indonesians ruled the net, and held their nerve to take the final game, and the match, 21-18.

Speaking after the match, Rijal spoke of their tactics: “We went all out as we had nothing to lose. We were too hasty with our shots in the first game and they [Xu / Ma] were more controlled. We managed to sort that out in the second game and then were more relaxed for the third.”

His partner, Debby Susanto, commented: “The Chinese pair were clear favourites so we felt less pressure, but they were not as good in the last two games as the first. It is good to be here, we knew the draw and that we would face them [Xu / Ma] if we played well. We just aimed to give them a good fight and winning is far beyond our expectations.”

Former Olympic champion Markis Kido, playing with sister Pia Zebediah Bernadeth also came through for Indonesia, to continue their incredible run with a very tense finish to the last match of the day.

Playing the Thai sixth seeds, Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thongthongkam, the match was even the whole way through, and although the Thais took the first game, Kido / Bernadeth (pictured left) managed to take the second in extra points. The third game was particularly marked by some drama in the final points.

At 20-18 match point, the Thai pair thought they had won the game only to find the umpire had deemed Thongthongkam to have struck the shuttle on the wrong side of the net. Buoyed by this, the Indonesians capitalised on the unsettling of the Thais to take the next three points, winning the match 18-21 22-20 22-20.

Markis Kido was honest on the outcome of the match, “We were very lucky to have won today.  The standard of both pairs was very equal in the games and we were very lucky, we just took our chances. It was very close in the second and third game, we were very fearful at the important points but we had to overcome the nervousness and thankfully we did.”

Commenting on the pairing with his sister, “We started the pair for fun, but since the Korea Open we have started playing seriously. The results here have especially confirmed that and been very encouraging for the future.”

The full results for the day can be found here.

If you are coming for the All England Championships, or whenever you visit Birmingham, try Badzine’s partner hotel, the City Nites Apartments. Offering fully serviced apartments, it is a stylish setting for long or short-term business people and visitors, and a great place to stay during the All England Championships.

CLICK HERE to make a reservation at the City Nites.