JAKARTA – Men's doubles coach Aryono Miranat assessed that Indonesia lost honorably to Malaysia in the final of the 2022 Asian Team Badminton Championships (BATC). That's because of the contrast in squad quality between the two teams.
Indonesia failed to defend its title after receiving a 3-0 defeat to Malaysia in the final match which took place at the Setia City Convention Center, Selangor, Malaysia, on Sunday, February 20.
"Thank you for the struggle of all the players. We lost honorably to Malaysia who relied on the Thomas Cup team last year," Miranat said in a statement received by VOI.
Malaysia, which lost to Indonesia in the final in the previous edition, reduced the majority of their mainstay squad. Their three winning points were contributed by Lee Zii Jia, Aaron Chia/Wooi Yik Soh, and Tze Yong Ng respectively.
To note, Lee Zii Jia and Aaron/Wooi are players who currently sit in the top 10 of the BWF rankings. These names currently occupy the seventh position in the world in their respective sectors.
Lee Zii Jia managed to beat Indonesian men's singles Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo who was ranked 55th. Meanwhile, Aaron Chia/Wooi Yik Soh won over Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin who was ranked 28th in the world.
Meanwhile, another point for Malaysia was contributed by Tze Yong Ng. The 47th ranked badminton player in the world defeated the Indonesian representative Ikhsan Rumbay who was ranked 90th in the BWF.
Despite the defeat, the Indonesian squad is considered to have performed optimally. Especially in this tournament, Leo and his friends came with an average of young players compared to Malaysia.
"Earlier we had fought optimally. Unfortunately at critical points we were not calm. This is an important lesson for young couples like myself and Daniel," said Leo.
This failure also crushed the hopes of the Red and White team to pair up with the men's and women's championship titles.
Before the men's final was held, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung and her friends had come out as champions for the first time in the history of the competition after defeating South Korea with a landslide score of 3-1.
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