INDONESIA MASTERS 2016 Finals – More mixed gold for Indonesia

Ronald Alexander / Melati Daeva Oktavianti took the first Grand Prix Gold title of their career as Indonesia took won two at the Indonesia Masters in Balikpapan.

By Don Hearn.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (archives)

Indonesia has already had a pretty good year in mixed doubles.  Jordan/Susanto picked up the All England and one other title, then Natsir/Ahmad won the Olympic gold after taking the Malaysia Open.  Today in Indonesian Borneo, it was the turn of Ronald Alexander and Melati Daeva Oktavianti (photo) to turn in a title performance.

It was unfortunate for Malaysia’s Tan Kian Meng / Lai Pei Jing.  They were relegated to a runner-up finish in a Grand Prix Gold event for the third time this season and it was the first time they were not beaten by China’s Zheng Siwei.

Tan was actually a casualty on Alexander/Oktavianti’s only other title performance, as he and a previous partner lost to the Indonesians at last year’s Chinese Taipei Grand Prix event.  However, this was the first time for the pair to top the podium at a Grand Prix Gold event.

Oktavianti, the 2012 World Junior Champion in mixed, was not the only former junior winner to reach a milestone today.  In the previous match, Chae Yoo Jung won her first ever major women’s doubles title.  She had won mixed titles in both Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold events, but it was in this discipline that she had proven herself the best of the junior world, back in 2013.

In fact, it was just a week later in 2013 that her partner of today, Kim So Yeong (pictured bottom), had taken her only previous career Grand Prix Gold title.  On Sunday, they beat Thailand’s Jongkolphan Kititharakul / Rawinda Prajongjai in two close games.

Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei, the reigning World Junior Champion in girls’ singles, was unable to become a third to make the jump from junior champion to Grand Prix Gold winner.  She lost to Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan (photo) in straight games.

Chinese shuttlers had two chances on Sunday.  The men’s singles was a lock for China going in but Huang Yuxiang, who had beaten top-seeded Wei Nan and 2013 winner Simon Santoso en route to the final, was hampered by a leg injury and had to retire from his final with compatriot Shi Yuqi (photo), gifting the 2014 World Junior Championship runner-up his first major title.

China’s second chance came in the last match of the day, as newly crowned Asian Junior Champions Han Chengkai / Zhou Haodong took on Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira / Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.  Sukamuljo, who already had two Superseries and one Grand Prix Gold to his name this year, picked up another with Pankaryanira as the Indonesians won in straight games.

For Sukamuljo, this is his first international tournament since the Australian Open and he won’t be in action again for over a month, when he and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon renew their partnership at the Denmark Open.  Pankaryanira, on the other hand, is not entered in any of the next three Superseries events, nor will he be in Thailand next month to defend the only Grand Prix Gold title he had previously won.

Final results
MS:  Shi Yuqi (CHN) [11] beat Huang Yuxiang (CHN) [12]  21-12, 11-0, [Retired]
WD:  Chae Yoo Jung / Kim So Yeong (KOR) [4] beat Jongkolphan Kititharakul / Rawinda Prajongjai (THA) [3]  21-18, 22-20
XD:  Ronald Alexander / Melati Daeva Oktavianti (INA) [2] beat Tan Kian Meng / Lai Pei Jing (MAS) [3]  21-16, 21-17
WS:  Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA) [1] beat Goh Jin Wei (MAS) [8]  21-15, 21-13
MD:  Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira / Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA) [5] beat Han Chengkai / Zhou Haodong (CHN)  21-16, 21-18

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