Firdasari leads RI singles sweep

Firdasari leads RI singles sweep

Musthofid
The Jakarta Post
Yogyakarta

Indonesian junior shuttlers made amends for their seniors'
disappointing performance at the international level as they
swept all the singles titles at the US$11,000 Milo Junior
Indonesia Open badminton championships here on Saturday.

Firdasari dominated the girls' singles final match against Ha
Jung-eun of South Korea on route to a 11-4, 11-3 win, her second
victory in as many years. Her triumphant run was followed by
Alamsyah who emerged the boys' singles champion, to the delight
of the over 2,000 home crowd who filled almost all the seats at
the Among Rogo sports hall.

Firdasari raced to a 9-2 lead thanks to her mastery in
marshaling the aerial battle that outplayed Ha almost throughout
the match. The Korean fell to a nervous showing which saw her
ball either sail wide or flop onto the net.

A lapse in Firdasari's defense allowed Ha to move closer at 9-
4, only after five service exchanges. The Indonesian wrapped up
the set on each occasion Ha either returned the ball wide or was
caught up in a poor control of the shuttlecock.

Overhead smashes and cunning net flicks fired Firdasari to a
convincing 6-1 lead in the second set. Ha was apparently unable
to steady her footwork while Firdasari maintained her pace to
build a 9-3 lead before pulling through to seal the victory.

"She is typically good in aerial battle, that's why I tried
not to lift the ball too high," 17-year-old Firdasari said after
the match which lasted only 25 minutes.

"I did not expect to win so quickly and easily. This year's
win is just so much more impressive for me because it was a
Korean opponent that I beat. Besides, the tournament has more
foreign participants than last year," she said.

Korean team's manager Lee Deu-choon put his protege's dismal
run down to physical lethargy, saying that Ha was too tired
having to play in three events: singles, doubles and mixed
doubles.

Ha's mixed doubles campaign with partner Hoon Min-young
already crashed in the semifinals at the hands of Ujang
Suherlan/Heni Budiman.

But Ha had a consolation win in the girls' doubles final along
with Oh Seul-ki, beating Indonesia's Heni Budiman/Greysa Polii
15-2, 15-13.

Alamsyah's abrupt and quick shots, which earned him the scalp
of three Korean players en route to the final, came to a mean
defense in Hendri at the start of the match. Alamsyah from
Tangkas Bogasari club also had to endure menacing deep smashes
from his opponent from Suryanaga Surabaya club to give away the
opening set.

However, in the following game, he somehow switched the
tactics by avoiding lavish lame lobs, which could have been the
prey of Hendri in the fight for points.

Alamsyah lifted his game by sweeping quick shots flat to the
back and blasting home deep drop shots to grab the upper hand
throughout. He also showed outstanding resilience in defense,
during which he even had to dive for a return.

"I couldn't spot his weaknesses in the opening set. When I did
in the following sets, I reduced the glaring high balls and
lowered the drives as often as possible. I opted for short shots
more often instead," Alamsyah said.

In the mixed doubles final, which was played earlier on the
day, M. Rizal/Greysa Polii defeated Ujang Suherlan/Heni Budiman
15-9, 15-9.

The boys' doubles final also featured an all-Indonesian match
with Yoga/Ujang Suherlan coming back from a set down to beat
Alroy Tanama Putra/Rizal 8-15, 15-5, 15-12.