INDONESIA MASTERS QF – Korean prodigy falls in quarters

Spanish shuttler Carolina Marin is two steps away to fulfill her ambition of winning the Indonesia Masters 2020 after an easy encounter against Korea’s An Se Young.

Story: Nadhira Rahmani, Badzine Correspondent live in Jakarta
Photos: Jnanesh Salian / Badmintonphoto (live)

Carolina Marin repeated the feat of Saina Nehwal from last week.  Both players had been beaten by Korean prodigy  An Se Young (pictured top) at the French Open – Marin after having already beaten the youngster a week earlier – but each veteran found the winning formula to start off 2020 by leaving An disappointed.

In her third encounter against the 17-year-old, Carolina Marin (pictured right) played aggressively from the beginning of the first game, resulting in a commanding 8-0 lead.  Despite trailing for most of the game, An managed collect points and narrowed the gap significantly, to 18-16, before Marin closed it out 21-17.

The last two meetings of the Olympic gold medallist and the French Open winner had ended in three tight games, but this was not to repeated this time around. The veteran European played even more aggressively in the second game, and opened up another crushing lead, getting out to 9-1, before clinching the game 21-6.

“I felt I didn’t give her any chance in the beginning of the match and the beginning of the second,” said Marin afterward.  “I was really focussed with so much determination that I wanted to win today and that’s what I showed her.”

The Spaniard, who failed to grab the title last year due to an ACL injury in the final, aims to write different story in this year’s event. The world #10 claimed that she is keen on playing at Istora and could not ask for a better or more supportive crowd:  “Today it was not about losing the last match, it was just about keeping my focus and doing my best here in Istora. I feel really good with the crowd and the support.”

Underdogs continue to strike

Thom Gicquel / Delphine Delrue (pictured right) of France secured their spot in the mixed doubles semi-final after an even bigger upset, if of a pair of a slightly lower seed.  This time, it was home favourites Praveen Jordan / Melati Daeva Oktavianti (pictured bottom) who paid the price.  The French pair beat the French Open champions 21-19, 14-21, 21-18 as the home crowd still awaits the re-awakening from the Indonesian duo, who picked up to Super 750 titles late last season.

In the previous round, the French pair, ranked 21^st in the world, won in two games against Thailand fourth-seeded Dechapol Puavaranukroh / Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-11 21-16.

In the semi-final, the French duo will face second-seeded Wang Yilyu / Huang Dongping, who was also had a tight match against Chris and Gabrielle Adcock before finishing it up in three.

Click here for complete quarter-final results