INDONESIA OPEN 2016 Day 3 – 1st round full of struggle

Young locals provided plenty of drama on Day 3 of the Indonesia Open but Muhammad Rian Ardianto / Fajar Alfian came up just short against the European Champions.

By Naomi Indartiningrum, Badzine Correspondent live in Jakarta.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

The 2016 Indonesia Open saw the main round action begin for men’s singles, women’s doubles and men’s doubles on Wednesday. This is just the first round but already some pairs faced full-on struggles as they had to bear the home crowd cheering their rivals.

The task was perhaps hardest for Denmark’s Mads Conrad Petersen / Mads Pieler Kolding, who had to struggle very hard not only because their rivals Muhammad Rian Ardianto / Fajar Alfian were playing really well but also because of  the crowd.  The two Madses faced a long battle against the Indonesian youngsters but were lucky enough to emerge with the 21-19, 14-21, 27-25 victory.

“Struggle, struggle, struggle.  We didn’t feel comfortable.  I don’t know why.  Many reasons,” said Kolding.  “I think they played a good match.  With these young Indonesians coming up the middle, it was hard for us and the home crowd made it difficult to focus.  All credit to them.

“I think they played very well.  We were amused today.  We know the Indonesians are good in Istora so we have respect for them and maybe a little bit too much in the second game because I think we should’ve come up stronger in the second game after winning the first,” he added.

Their team-mates, Mathias Boe / Carsten Mogensen also earned their ticket to the second round when they beat China’s Li Junhui / Liu Yuchen 21-16 22-20.  Mogensen, who has just recovered from brain surgery, played really well during the match. The Danes’ strategy was not to lift it too much but to keep up the pressure through fast drives, forcing the Chinese youngsters to make many errors. This win means a lot for Boe/Mogensen, as they still can tell the world that they are still alive and ready to come back again.

Surprises from the unseeded

On the other court of an unseeded Indonesian women’s doubles pair also made a surprise, but with even greater success. Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah / Rizki Amelia Pradipta succeeded in sending Shizuka Matsuo / Mami Naito packing on the first day. The Indonesians won 15-21, 21-19, 21-19 after battling for 68 minutes. This loss is very disappointing for the Japanese pair, who had hoped to get a much better result in this tournament.

“We just played like usual but after losing the second game, we were very down and it really affected our third game. We were down, while the Indonesians had really heated up and were full of spirit so we just couldn’t do anything to save this match,” said Naito.

Another surprise came from Indonesia’s Anggia Shitta Awanda / Ni Ketut Mahadewi, who beat another strong pair from Japan, Naoko Fukuman / Kurumi Yonao. Awanda/Mahadewi needed only 36 minutes to win it 21-12, 21-10 to send the Japanese home. With this result, Japan only have Misaki Matsutomo / Ayaka Takahashi left to continue this tournament.

Click here for complete Wednesday results