Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Finals schedule Malaysian Open 2023 will be marked by the appearance of the Indonesian men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian / Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
Fajar/Rian has the right to advance to the final after defeating the South Korean pair Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae in the semifinal match at Axiata Arena, Saturday (14/1).
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. However, Fajar/Rian were able to control the game and managed to end the game with a 21-17 victory.
Fajar/Rian were the only Indonesian representatives 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.
Next, Fajar/Rian will face Chinese doubles, Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang. Both of these pairs have met twice and ended with a score of 1-1.
Keng/Chang managed to win at the 2022 Japan Open, while Fajar/Rian were able to avenge their defeat at the 2022 Indonesia Masters in early December.
The Fajar/Rian vs Keng/Chang duel will appear in the final match of the Malaysia Open 2023 final which will be held at the Axiata Arena, Sunday (15/1). The first match will be played starting at 13.00 WIB and it is estimated that Fajar/Rian will compete at 17.00 WIB.
Malaysia Open 2022 Final Schedule:
Mixed Doubles
Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong [1] (China) vs Yuta Watanebe/Arisa Higashino [3] (Japan)
Women’s Doubles
Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan [1] (China) vs Ha Na Baek/Yu Lim Lee
Women’s Singles
Akane Yamaguchi [1] (Japan) vs. Se Young An [2] (South Korea)
Men’s Singles
Viktor Axelsen [1] (Denmark) vs. Kodai Naraoka (Japan)
Men’s Doubles
Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto [3] (Indonesia) vs. Liang Eri Keng/Wang Chang (China)
(jun)
