Anthony Ginting Wins Convincing Taiwan's Leading Opponent In The 2024 Thomas Cup

JAKARTA - The men's singles badminton athlete, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, managed to perform optimally in the semifinals of the 2024 Thomas Cup, Saturday, May 4. The bronze winner at the Tokyo Olympics managed to show his class.

Ginting won over Taiwan's first seed Chou Tien Chen through two straight sets with a score of 21-18, 21-19 within 51 minutes of the match which was held at the Chengdu Hi Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium, Chengdu, China.

"We are grateful to be able to play well, and quite happy with today's performance. Up and down in the field, we both have a strategy, and can manage well," Ginting said as quoted by ANTARA.

Seperti ekspektasi, baik Ginting maupun Chen sudah sama-sama tahu pola permainan seperti apa yang harus menerapkan. Kedua pemain memiliki jenis permainan yang cepat dan rapat, sehingga untuk mengoleksi angka pun menjadi tantangan.

However, Ginting managed to secure the first game interval, before Chou finally caught up and equalized 12-12.

After halftime, Ginting continued to extend the gap between the advantages until 19-13 until finally winning the first game point. However, Chou did not give up and added five consecutive points to slow Ginting's score, until Ginting won the first game with a score of 21-18.

The second game, Chou put pressure on Ginting first so that Indonesian representatives were left behind several times. After a short break, the world number seven men's singles began to chase and equalize 13-13, 15-15, and 16-16.

At these crucial points, Ginting seemed to be starting to be patient in serving balls and long rallies, until finally the position turned superior, and claimed the second game 21-19.

Meanwhile, there are four other Indonesian representatives who will compete in the last four of the 2024 Thomas Cup against Taiwan.

Apart from Ginting, there are Jonatan Christie and Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the single sector. While in doubles there are the pair Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin.

"For me, this victory is quite important by taking a point at the beginning. Hopefully this initial victory will make my friends more relaxed and motivated," said Ginting.

On the other hand, this is the 28th time that Indonesia has qualified for the semifinals of the Thomas Cup since their first participation in 1958. If Indonesia qualified again for the final round, this would be three times in a row, the Red and White entering the top party since 2020, where they last brought home the Thomas Cup.