Jakarta, CNNIndonesia —
Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto became the only Indonesian representatives at the 2023 Malaysia Open after defeating Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae, Saturday (14/1).
Competing at the Axiata Arena, Malaysia, Fajar/Rian had a tight match in the first game. After falling behind in the middle of the match from the South Korean pair, the Indonesian doubles were able to turn things around.
Fajar/Rian had to admit Kang/Seo’s superiority in the first game interval with a score of 10-11. In fact, the South Korean pair had the upper hand when winning 15-13.
However, Fajar/Rian were able to deal with the opponent’s aggressive game and managed to equalize the score 16-16. This became a positive momentum for the Indonesian pair to control the game until they were finally able to close the first game with a score of 21-18.
The tight battle continued in the second game. This time Fajar/Rian was in control of the game from the start of the fight. Despite getting fierce resistance, the Indonesian doubles were able to lead 11-8 in the middle of the match.
Kang/Seo managed to gain two consecutive points to cut the gap 10-11. However, Fajar/Rian did not want to give wind to the opponent and returned away 16-11.
Rian’s hard smash towards the middle finished the match with a score of 21-17. Thus, Fajar/Rian became the only representatives of Indonesia in the 2023 Malaysia Open final.
Previously, two Indonesian representatives Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja and Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia were stopped in the semifinals.
Dejan/Gloria lost two straight games to Chinese mixed doubles Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong, 16-21 18-21. Meanwhile, Apriyani/Fadia had to give up retiring because Fadia suffered an injury at the start of the second game.
(jun)
