Top junior seeds cruise into semis<\/p>\n
By Novan Iman Santosa<\/p>\n
SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): Indonesia's top boy's shuttlers
\nsailed into the semifinals of the Milo Junior Indonesia Open at
\nthe Bhinneka sports hall on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Top seed Sony Dwi Santoso of the Indonesian Badminton Center
\n(PBI) barely broke a sweat in defeating Suherlan of West Java 15-
\n2, 15-5 in the quarterfinals. Sony will now meet fellow PBI
\nshuttler Markis Kido.<\/p>\n
\"I never underestimate my opponents. I just try to do my
\nbest,\" Sony said after the match. \"I have met Markis about 10
\ntimes and I have won most of the matches. As for Friday, we have
\nto see what happens on the court.\"<\/p>\n
In contrast to Sony, Markis had to struggle for more than one
\nhour to defeat Andika Pradana Wicaksana of West Java 15-13, 13-
\n15, 15-4.<\/p>\n
Markis had the better of the action in the first game but
\nAndika refused to quit, sacrificing his body by diving to the
\nfloor several times to return the shuttlecock.<\/p>\n
Both players were exhausted by the second game, but they
\ncontinued to engage in long rallies to the entertainment of the
\ncrowd. Andika took the second game after Markis made several
\nunforced errors on critical points.<\/p>\n
The third game saw Markis totally control the action to seal
\nthe victory.<\/p>\n
Second seed Ardiansyah of PBI overpowered Roy Purnomo
\nKurniawan of Djarum Kudus 15-5, 15-8 to earn the right to face
\nAndre, another Djarum shuttler.<\/p>\n
Andre advanced to the semifinals despite losing the first game
\nof his match. He was able to keep his focus and post a 10-15, 15-
\n12, 15-5 win over Joko Riyadi of Jakarta-based Jaya Raya in
\nanother crowd-pleasing game.<\/p>\n
Girl's singles top seed Dewi Tira of PBI defeated Marissa of
\nJakarta-based Tangkas Bogasari 11-8, 13-11 in a hotly contested
\ncontest.<\/p>\n
Dewi played safe in the first game for a comfortable win. In
\nthe second game, she jumped out to a 10-4 lead before Marissa
\nbounced back to tie things up at 10-10. But experience proved the
\ndifference, and Dewi was able to seal the match.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know what happened to me in the second game when
\nMarissa managed to tie the score. I started to feel shaky when
\nshe kept scoring. I also let my guard down, I guess,\" Dewi told
\nThe Jakarta Post after the match.<\/p>\n
\"I guess I was too eager to finish the match quickly. I have
\nto be more patient in my next match. But I think my game is
\nimproving now.\"<\/p>\n
Dewi's next opponent will be Lilyana Natsir of Tangkas, who
\ndefeated Maria Elvira of PBI 11-4, 2-11, 9-11 in the
\nquarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Second seed Silvi Antarini of PBI defeated Fransiska Ratnasari
\nof Jaya Raya 11-6, 11-9 in a tight match.<\/p>\n
Fransiska took an 8-0 lead in the second game and looked
\ncertain to force a third game. But Silvi dug into her reserves
\nand when on an 11-1 run to win the game.<\/p>\n
Silvi will now face teammate Ricasari, who defeated 2001
\nJunior National Championships runner-up Maria Kristin of Djarum
\nKudus 11-8, 5-11, 11-7.<\/p>\n
The girl's doubles pair of Monica and Lita Nurlita of PBI
\nbested Heny Budiman and Greysia Polii of Jaya Raya 15-2, 15-5.
\nMonica and Lita will now see the Japanese duo of Ikue Tatani and
\nAi Gotoh.<\/p>\n
Tatani and Gotoh defeated Siti Mahiroh and Dara Aprillya
\nPrameswarie of Jaya Raya 15-5, 15-7 in a spirited match.<\/p>\n
The Japanese shuttlers were a crowd favorite with their high-
\npitched yells throughout the match.<\/p>\n
However, Japanese manager Takechika Kudo told the Post the
\npair would not be around for Friday's semifinals because they had
\nto return home.<\/p>\n
\"We are going to walk out as we have a plane to catch. I can't
\nchange the flight date as I have very cheap tickets provided by
\nthe Nippon Badminton Federation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"My players are high school students and they have to return
\nto their studies soon.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/top-junior-seeds-cruise-into-semis-1447893297",
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