INDONESIA OPEN 2017 Day 2 – Glimmers of hope for home favourites

Indonesian shuttlers won just over half their matches as Olympic champions Ahmad/Natsir barely held on.

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

The 2017 BCA Indonesia Open tournament shows some changes from previous years, with now US $1,000,000 in prize money and a move to the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC).  Although there is a new venue and a different atmosphere, the Indonesia Open still provided the usual surprises for some of the less fortunate top players and home players

Starting off the first round – played for just mixed doubles and women’s singles on Tuesday – Praveen Jordan / Debby Susanto gave a surprise with a loss.  They lost 21-15, 19-21, 11-21 to  Denmark’s Dutch Open champions Mathias Christiansen / Sara Thygesen (pictured) in a match that lasted 59 minutes.

The 2016 All England champions were performing well in the first game with attacking strategy.  Moving on the other side of the court, the unseeded pair from Denmark showed a surge in form while Jordan was continuously under pressure and made a lot of unforced errors.  At the beginning of the third game, the Indonesian duo trailed 4-14 and they finally lost 11-21.

“Our strategy was just not working on court,” said Debby Susanto.   “Physically and mentally we were ready to play.  In the second game when we win the wind, the shuttlecock is often twisted near the net as well as attracted to the opposing field.”

She said their defeat in the third game started since receiving an early service from the opponent.  “Their serve was tight with good direction, while our returning was a bit rough,” she added.

Surely this is a bad note for Praveen and Debby who were expected to be Indonesia’s best chance to win this tournament.  “We are certainly disappointed with this result, we want to win, but we have to accept the reality that we lost in our home country,” Jordan said.

Determined to give extra hope, Tontowi Ahmad / Liliyana Natsir successfully secured tickets to the second round.  The 6th seeds managed to beat the new Korean pair, Kim Duk Young / Kim Ha Na (pictured) after the rubber game drama.

The Olympic gold medallist of Rio de Janeiro started the match with a defeat in the first game, 19-21.  Throughout the second and third games, Ahmad / Natsir always played under pressure but despite the pressure, they managed to secure the second game.

With the third game tied at 18-all, Ahmad’s drive was considered to be in by the line judge while the Korean pair insisted it was out.  Frustrated by the umpire’s refusal to reverse the call, the two Kims lost focus and were forced to admit defeat after dropping the last three points.

With this result, Indonesia still has representatives in the second round of the Indonesia Open 2017 on next Thursday also preserving the chance of Ahmad / Natsir to get their first Indonesia Open title as a pair.

Do you think Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir (pictured) can win their first Indonesia Open title this year?  Feel free to comment below.

Click here for complete Tuesday results