Kumamoto Japan Masters 2024: Dejan/Gloria Turning Point

JAKARTA - Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja experienced a drastic turning point. They returned home early in the 2024 Japanese Kumamoto Masters after previously being runners-up twice in a row.

The couple lifted the suitcase in the first half after losing two straight games 19-21 and 18-21 against Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, afternoon WIB.

"Today, we don't believe much in the field, so there are many mistakes, not as expected," Gloria said in a statement received from PBSI Public Relations.

This defeat undermined the positive trend that the couple was building. In the previous three tournaments, they recorded the worst result was to become semifinalists at the 2024 China Open.

Their journey after that increased while playing at the Macau Open and the Korea Masters 2024. In these two tournaments, they successfully stepped in the final even though they finished their journey as runners-up.

"The atmosphere (field) is different from today's match. The blowing is felt and we make a lot of mistakes ourselves," said Gloria.

The pair's defeat left only two Indonesian mixed doubles, namely Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Minister and Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Lisa Ayu Kusumawati.

Rinov/Pitha secured a ticket to the second half after stopping Supak Jomkoh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thialand), while Rehan/Lisa repatriated Lin Bing-Wei/Lin Chih-Chun.

Apart from Dejan/Gloria, the defeat was also felt by the men's singles Alwi Farhan and the women's singles Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi. Alwi was beaten by Christo Popov (France), while Komang lost to Danish representative Mia Blichfeldt.