Losing In The 2023 Malaysia Masters Semifinals, The Babies Admit Not Maximum

Photo: Antara

JAKARTA The men's doubles Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin ran aground with a score of 17-21, 20-22 by the host pair Man Wei Chong/Kai Wun Tee, in the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters 2023, Saturday night Kuala Lumpur time. The pair nicknamed The Babies also admitted that they were not optimal.

"Compared yesterday (the quarter-finals), today our game is far away. Very underperformed. We also cannot escape the pressure so the concentration is disrupted," said Leo, Antara, Sunday, May 28.

Controlling the game was their weakness in yesterday's match. Although it wasn't the best result they wanted, Daniel was quite grateful to be able to reach the semifinals of the BWF Super 500 level tournament.

"We are grateful to be able to make it to the semifinals, but this is not the best result. This defeat is for us to learn again how to control it," said Daniel.

The Indonesian duet had difficulty penetrating the Man/Tee defense from the start. Even at the beginning of the first game, Leo/Daniel were immediately 2-8 behind after Man/Tee won six points in a row.

After failing to steal points through attacking games, Leo/Daniel tried to change the style of the game more defensively and presented the rally game with low balls and avoided giving the opponent a lob.

Unfortunately Man/Tee are no less tenuous and do not let Leo/Daniel catch up.

"The opponent played better than us. We made a lot of mistakes ourselves," Leo explained.

The failure to advance to the top party of the Malaysia Masters did not discourage Leo/Daniel. There are still other tournaments they are eyeing to pursue the points of the Paris Olympics.

"We have to recover quickly because the match is not just this. There are still many tournaments ahead, especially since this has entered the Race to Olympic. We will be even more prepared," concluded Leo.