Failed To Bring Indonesia To The Sudirman Cup Semifinals, Praveen/Melati: We Feel Very Sad, We Apologize

JAKARTA - Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti mixed doubles admitted that she was sad because she failed to contribute winning points while bringing Indonesia to the semifinals of the 2021 Sudirman Cup.

In the match which took place at Energia Areena, Vantaa, Finland, Saturday morning WIB, Praveen/Melati were forced to their knees through the rubber game 19-21, 21-9, 16-21 by the Malaysian pair Hoo Pang Ron/Cheah Yee See.

Praveen/Melati appeared in the decider, having previously drawn 2-2. However, with this final result, Indonesia lost 2-3 to Malaysia and was unable to proceed to the semifinals.

“Frankly, Meli and Meli (Melati's nickname) feel very sad about this failure. We apologize to the Indonesian people for not being able to contribute points and lead Indonesia to advance to the semifinals," Praveen said in an official statement from PP PBSI received by Antara in Jakarta, Saturday morning.

If you look at BWF records, actually Praveen/Melati are far more superior than Ron/See. The reason is, Praveen / Melati are the fourth ranked pair in the world, while the neighboring country pair is far at 27th.

Moreover, Praveen / Melati also won the All England title in 2020.

The meeting of the two pairs in the Sudirman Cup quarter-final match was the first time for them. The two of them had never met in any tournament before.

Unfortunately, in that fight Praveen/Melati made a lot of mistakes which ultimately benefited the opponent. As a result, they had to acknowledge the greatness of Ron/See.

“Meli and I actually gave the best performance we had. However, as a result, we lost,” said Ucok, Praveen's nickname.

Furthermore, in the semifinals of the team championship, which will be held on Saturday, China is scheduled to meet South Korea at 14.00 WIB, while Malaysia will face Japan at 20.00 WIB.

The following are the results of the 2021 Sudirman Cup quarter-final match between Indonesia vs Malaysia (2-3).

Men's doubles Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo vs Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, 12-21, 15-21

Women's singles Gregoria Mariska Tunjung vs Kisona Selvaduray, 22-20, 18-21, 21-19

Men's singles Anthony Sinisuka Ginting vs Lee Zii Jia, 11-21, 16-21

Women's doubles Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu vs Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan, 22-20, 17-21, 21-18

Mixed Doubles Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti vs Hoo Peng Ron/Cheah Yee See, 19-21, 21-10, 16-21