Firdasari leads 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.