AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2013 SF – Indonesia locks up men’s doubles title

For a second year in a row, the Australian Badminton Open men’s doubles title will head north to Indonesia as the Korean and Malaysian challenges for 2013 ended on semi-final Saturday.

By Rudy Chandra, Badzine correspondent live in Sydney.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (archives)

Angga Pratama / Ryan Agung Sapputro – who are now Indonesia’s top men’s doubles pair in the world rankings even though they have not titled since the summer of 2011 – have made it to the final after winning their match with dominance against Korean’s Kim Dae Eun / Shin Baek Cheol in two straight games, 21-9, 21-14.  For the Indonesians, this is their first final in 2013 but their 3^rd in the last 7 months, and they look more than ready to fight for the title in Sydney.

Ryan/Angga have been hot in Sydney.  Reaching the final without dropping a single game is impressive.  Today they showed their class by outperforming the new Korean pairing in the attacking department.  With 14 smash winners compared to 4, it is obvious that the Korean struggled to find spaces in their opponents’ defence.

As Angga confirmed, “We know we would have lost if we had kept lifting, so we tried to attack in every opportunity.”

It is a great result for them and they deserve every decibel of the fantastic, loud support from the Indonesian supporters at Sydney’s Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Hendra back to defend

For the title, Angga and Ryan will face Hendra Setiawan – who blocked his compatriots’ way in last year’s semi-final – and new partner Mohammad Ahsan, one of the men’s doubles game’s hottest pairs at the moment.  Having survived and early scare in the first round, Setiawan and Ahsan were not about to repeat the same mistake.  Finishing their matches in two straight games has been their trend since.

The de facto title favourites were not about to try anything different in their semi-final against Malaysia’s Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif / Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari, either.  Ahsan and Setiawan forced a lot of errors from their opponents, with quick and sharp attacks both from the backcourt and at the net.  They clinched the first game 21-18.

In the second game, the Malaysians were determined to put up a fight, but without much change of strategy, Indonesian pair quickly opened up a gap of 4 points.  After the interval, the Malaysians turned to high serves.  It gives 3 straight points and nothing much changed.  A series of service error from both sides ended the last match of the day 21-18.

With this win, the men’s doubles tomorrow will be a showdown between two Indonesians, featuring the winners of the 2013 Malaysia Open Superseries and the official top Indonesian pair, who are looking for their first title in two and a half years.

Click here for complete semi-final results