China Masters 2024: Gregoria Home Early

Badminton player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the first round match at the 2024 China Masters (doc. PBSI).

JAKARTA Gregoria Mariska Tunjung was immediately eliminated in the first round of the 2024 China Masters after losing to Pornpawee Chochuwong.

The 2017 junior champion gave up two straight games 13-21 and 14-21 against Thailand's representatives at Shenzhen Gymnasium, China, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, evening WIB.

"Today I have to admit Chochuwong is playing very clean. He knows what to play," Gregoria said after the match.

Gregoria has undergone six tournaments since winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics recently. Of the six events, only two events in China have their shortest trips.

Before appearing at the 2024 China Masters, Gregoria also appeared at the China Open in September 2024. At that time, he lost two straight games and went home in the first half.

After a minor result at the China Open, this Wonogiri badminton player rose by reaching two semifinals and one runner-up last week at the 2024 Japanese Kumamoto Masters, his first tournament after injury in the semifinals of the Denmark Open.

Gregoria did not have time to try out the China Masters match arena because it only arrived on Monday, November 18, 2024, the night from Kumamoto. The match had to start on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.

"So, there is no opportunity to adapt. As a result, I couldn't control the match. There were so many errors. Misobservation and miscontrol. In fact, the ball was easy," said Gregoria.

Furthermore, Gregoria will return to China to play the match in the closing tournament of the 2024 BWF World Tour Finals at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center on 10-15 December 2024.

"I have plenty of time to practice and prepare myself. Certainly not an easy challenge, but I want to close the year with the best performance later," said Gregoria.

Gregoria's defeat left the Indonesian women's singles hopeless. The reason is, the 25-year-old athlete is the sole representative of the sector in this Super 750 BWF event.