JAKARTA - Indonesian women's doubles Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu won the opening match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by defeating the Malaysian pair Chow Mei Kuan/Lee Meng Yean.
Reported by Antara, Saturday, July 24, in the first qualifying match of Group A which was held at Field 2 Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, Greysia/Apriyani won the straight game over Kuan/Yean with a score of 21-14, 21-17 in a straight game. 45 minutes, as quoted from the official BWF website.
In that match, Greysia/Apriyani appeared aggressive, full of enthusiasm and attacked a lot.
When viewed in terms of ranking, Greysia/Apriyani are indeed far more superior because they are ranked sixth in the world, while Kuan/Yean is in 11th place.
Greysia/Apriyani's agile performance could not be matched by her opponent. Slowly but surely, Greysia/Apriyani continued to pound Chow/Lee until they finally won the match.
Even though they failed to steal the start in the first game, Greysia/Apriyani continued to stick to their opponents. Chow/Lee quickly grabbed the opening points and continued to lead, even widening the 7-3 gap with Greysia/Apriyani.
However, the Red and White team did not want to just give up. With great enthusiasm, they slowly chased and narrowed the distance until they were finally able to match 10-10.
Their position is back at 12-12. However, after that Greysia/Apriyani continued to sprint, leaving Chow/Lee and winning the first game with a score of 21-14.
Things changed in the second game. The competition was so tight. Greysia/Apriyani, who this time were able to steal the start, continued to be tapped by Chow/Lee, so that both pairs took turns leading the game.
Both are equally strong and dominate each other. But once again Greysia/Apriyani proved their superiority. After a 13-13 draw, they were able to outwit their opponents with punches and unpredictable ball directions.
As a result, the pair from neighboring countries continued to lose points and Greysia/Apriyani again won with a closing score of 21-17.
Winning over Chow/Lee, Greysia/Apriyani still have two preliminary matches in Group A, namely against Chloe Birch/Lauren Smith from England on Monday, July 26 and then against representatives of the hosts Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota on Tuesday, July 27.
Apart from Greysia/Apriyani, there are still four Indonesian badminton representatives who will play the inaugural match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Saturday, namely the men's singles Group G Jonatan Christie who will face Aram Mahmoud who is the representative of the IOC Olympic Refugee Team at 09.00 WIB.
Then the mixed doubles Group C Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti challenged the Australian pair Simon Wing Hang Leung/Gronya Sommerville at 09.40 WIB.
Furthermore, Group A men's doubles Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon against England's Ben Lane/Sean Vendy at 10.20 WIB.
Lastly, Group D men's doubles Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan against Jason Anthony Ho-Shue/Nyl Yakura from Canada at 16.00 WIB.
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