Candra, Halim upbeat on new doubles partnership
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Batam
Candra Wijaya and Halim Heryanto who, as a fledgling doubles team, made it to the semifinals of the Sanyo Indonesia Open, are seeking to improve their teamwork when they compete in the upcoming Malaysia Open.
"We have come to the Indonesia Open, simply content with a place in the semifinals. We are not by any means complacent with merely semifinal run, mind you. But It should be considered a modest feat for us given that this is our tournament debut as a team," Candra said.
"This should motivate us to do even better," he said.
Candra had partnered with Sigit Budiarto and they reach the final of the World Championships in Birmingham, England, in June.
They have since parted ways and each now has a new partner.
Sigit the World Championship silver medalist, who is now partnered with Tri Kusharjanto, crashed out of the tourney in the third round.
Candra and Halim looked much more solid in their partnership this past week.
Against the Thai duo of Pramote Teerawiwatana/Tesana Panvisvas, the Indonesian pair got off to a good start, pulling clear to 10-3 before clinching the first set 15-7.
They stumbled a bit in the second set with Halim particularly being blamed for his inaccurate smashes, which resulted in too many unforced errors and a loss of 15-9.
The Thai opponents built a formidable lead at 13-5, largely helped by the Indonesians' continued lapses in concentration. Candra and Halim did not seem to be communication effectively at times, which resulted in the shuttlecock falling on their side untouched.
After a brief rally by the Indonesian pair, the Thais brought finished it off on their way to a 15-8 victory for the set and the match.
"I thought Candra was going for some of those returns and he thought I had them," Halim said about their miscommunication during the match.
"I guess it's normal as we haven't played together so much," Candra said.
Candra did praise the Thais as they used excellent tactics.
"They could read through our game particularly in the last two sets. In the first set I was able to break down their defense but in the remaining games, they managed to get into a nice rhythm.
"They somehow slowed down the tempo in such a way that it was difficult for us to break through," Candra said.
Candra and Halim played one other time as a makeshift pair in a tourney in Bangkok in 2001.
Candra said that they had yet to build the required chemistry between them. Reflexes, he said, also needed to be honed further to establish a well-connected routine.
"Hopefully, we'll have a better result in Malaysia," he said. The Malaysia Open starts on Sept. 3 in Sabah, Malaysia.