Relieved To Go Through The First Round Of The Indonesia Open, Gregoria: Quite Happy To Win

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesian women's singles badminton player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung breathed a sigh of relief because she made it through the first round of the Indonesia Open. Gregoria won two straight games over Supanida Katethong of Thailand in Nusa Dua, Bali, Tuesday.

His victory with a score of 21-16, 21-15 paid for his failure to penetrate the round of 16 at the Indonesia Masters tournament last week.

"Praise God today, I'm quite happy to win in the first round, because in Indonesia the Masters lost in the first round," said Gregoria about the match as reported by Antara.

Even though she could win two straight games in 34 minutes, the 25th ranked women's singles badminton player admits that she still has shortcomings that must be evaluated.

In the second game, Gregoria's focus had decreased due to difficulty controlling his technique after being affected by unfavorable wind conditions, so he became more in a hurry to execute punches.

"Today's evaluation in the second game was a bit less calm because of the wind, so I wanted to grab the fast ball. But the energy didn't let the ball get out of control," he revealed.

He explained that the key to his victory today lies in the mental aspect that is more able to maintain calm playing than last week. Meanwhile, in terms of technique, according to him, there is no significant difference from last week because in these two tournaments they faced two opponents with different qualities.

At the Indonesia Masters 2021, Gregoria almost won before being defeated by eighth seed from Japan Sayaka Takahashi 18-21, 21-11, 20-22 in a 56-minute match.

"Progress compared to last week is not too much because in terms of the opponent is also different, today is more calm to manage the game and his emotions," said Gregoria.

In the round of 16 of this Super 1000 level tournament, Gregoria is still waiting for a potential opponent between fifth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong and non-seeded badminton player Lianne Tan.