Holly set to wrap up giant killing run with singles title
Holly set to wrap up giant killing run with singles title
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Unseeded Holly Yusiana Paulima is looking to unseat another big
name when she faces Firdasari for the girls' singles crown at the
Milo Junior Indonesia Open badminton championships at Sudirman
Sports Hall here on Saturday.
After beating two national players in the previous stages,
Holly, from Suryanaga Surabaya Badminton Club, defeated Silvi
Antarini, the defending champion and former national player, 9-
11, 11-6, 11-6 in their semifinal on Friday.
Her former victims were Richasari in the third round
and Maria Elfira in the quarterfinals.
In the other semifinal, Firdasari was involved in a tough
three-set match with teammate Siti Mahiroh before scraping a 6-
11, 13-12, 11-6 victory.
Against Holly, Firda, who is rated 11th, is anxious to square
points between them following her loss at their only meeting in
Jakarta last year.
"She is such a fighting player, who always chases for the
shuttlecock. I just hope I can keep up with her," she said.
Meanwhile, Holly's side refused to comment much about the next
game, with coach Aji Santoso only saying: "The game will be
tough".
Holly's success in stopping Silvi, who had disposed of top
seed Dewi Tira Arisandi en route to the semifinals, owed much to
her patience.
"She lost the opening set because she was too hasty in her
returns. I told her to change her tactics because her opponent
looked like they were running out of steam," Aji said about his
instructions to her protege during the changeovers.
"If mild dropshots were enough to take points, why bother
smashing? When she took the second set, we were certain of a
win," he said.
Silvi was totally out there, failing to carry on her winning
form in the opening set as if she had no energy reserves left.
She fell prey to Holly's sharp dropshots while fumbling for her
own at the net.
She admitted being a bit slack, having been idle for four
months prior to the tournament.
"I was out of breath. My feet were sluggish. It felt difficult
to move," said Silvi, who lags 1-2 in her head-to-head record
with Holly.
In the girls doubles, the national team will now rest its
hopes on Lilyana Natsir/Nathalia P after Devi Sukma Wijaya/Rani
Mundiasti went down to Meilyana/Purwati 13-10, 11-9.
In the boys' field, the national players held on with reigning
champion Holvy De Pauw leading compatriots to the finals.
Holvy got over his nerve to deny the home crowd's favorite
Bagus Suprobo a final entry. Holvy, who had feared possibly
crumpling under the psychological pressure before the match, won
15-6, 15-0.
He will meet Simon Santoso of Tangkas Bogasari, who beat Roy
Purnomo of Jarum Kudus 15-7, 5-15, 15-12.
The finals lineup for the national pairs in the boys and mixed
doubles will be Joko Riyadi/Hendra Setiawan playing Markis
Kido/Rian Sukmawan and Hendra Setiawan/Devi Sukma Wijaya
facing Markis Kido/Lilyana Natsir respectively.