In a first, our shuttlers outdo archrivals Indonesia

FOR once, Malaysia have done better than their archrivals Indonesia in badminton.

While Malaysia were assured of a medal with Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik reaching the men’s doubles semi-finals on Thursday, Indonesia suffered their worst ever showing in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, by firing blanks.

It’s the first time in history that they have failed to even win a bronze medal.

Indonesia have won a medal in every edition since the inception of the Games in 1962 in Jakarta. In fact, they have won at least one gold medal in every edition except for 1986 and 1990.

World No. 7 Gregoria Mariska, who was the last representative standing for Indonesia in the quarter-finals, was left in tears after her 10-21, 19-21 defeat to Japan’s Aya Ohori.

“The key was the first game where I should not have allowed my opponent to score so many points at the start,” lamented the 24-year-old Gregoria in a post-match interview with the Indonesian National Badminton Association (PBSI).

“It made her gain confidence while it affected me a lot mentally.

“I did feel the pressure in the first game while the Japanese controlled the game so well.

“This was a very important match as the winner will be guaranteed a medal.

“Honestly, I did not think too much that I was Indonesia’s last hope to win a medal.

“Every opponent is tough but I felt that I had the ability to perform better than I did,” added Gregoria.

Earlier in the day, Gregoria’s compatriots Anthony Ginting and 2018 Jakarta Games silver medallists Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto, who were the top seeds in the men’s singles and doubles respectively, had seen their medal hopes dashed.

Anthony lost 13-21, 17-21 to homester and world No. 8 Li Shifeng while Fajar-Rian went down 19-21, 18-21 to Taiwan’s reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin.

It was also a forgettable outing for defending men’s singles champion Jonatan Christie, who lost 17-21, 17-21 to Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen in the second round.

World No. 5 Jonatan had beaten world No. 13 Tien-chen in the final in Jakarta.

In the men’s team event, Indonesia had suffered a shock 1-3 defeat to South Korea in the quarter-finals while the women’s team went down 0-3 to China at the same stage.