Indonesia suffers surprise 2-3 upset to Hong Kong in Uber Cup
Novan Iman Santosa The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Top seed Indonesia suffered a surprise 2-3 defeat at the hands of underdogs Hong Kong in the semifinals of the women's Uber Cup qualifying round in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday.
"Theoretically, we should have won the match but unfortunately we didn't. Our second singles Ellen Angelina, and second doubles Emma Ermawati and Eny Erlangga, failed to win their matches," Indonesia's deputy team manager, Ivanna Lie, told The Jakarta Post by telephone from Melbourne.
Ellen failed a straight set victory after leading 7-4, 7-0 against Wan Ting Lin. Wan fought back and took the remaining three games 7-5, 7-3, 7-4 to wrap up the match in 51 minutes.
Meanwhile, Emma and Eny fell 5-7, 7-4, 7-2, 7-1 to Wang Chen and Koon Wai Chee Louisa 7-5, 4-7, 2-7, 1-7 in 40 minutes.
Also losing was Atu Rosalina, who was no match for the vast experience of old-hand Wang Chen. Wang Chen, currently ranked number five in the world compared to Atu's 29, won easily 7-0, 7- 0, 7-2 in just 18 minutes.
Indonesia's points were grabbed by second stringer Dian Novita Sari who defeated Siu Ching Man 7-5, 7-4, 7-0 in 30 minutes and doubles pair Deyana Lomban and Vita Marisa who beat Li Wing Mui and Wan Ting Ling 7-5, 7-1, 7-1.
"It is very clear that our women's shuttlers need to improve their strength and endurance. Players from countries like Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand were able to play in both singles and doubles matches," said Ivanna.
"As for our shuttlers, even playing just one match really drained them of energy."
"Technically speaking, we are at the same level with other participants. But once the shuttlers lose their energy, their skills become useless," she continued.
Chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), Chairul Tanjung, also lamented the fact that Indonesia failed to beat Hong Kong.
"We must take it as a lesson so we can prepare the team better for the finals round in Guangzhou, China, in May," he said, as quoted by Antara news agency from Melbourne.
"The loss proves that we can still improve our shuttlers as long as they want to work hard. The finals round will be an even more difficult campaign for us," he added.
In Sunday's final, Hong Kong will face South Korea, who beat Japan 3-2 in the other semifinals. Indonesia will face Japan to decide the third and fourth place.