Don't Want To Think Sayaka Hirota Is Injured Or Fit In A Match, Greysia Polli: Just Brush, No Pity

Greysia/Apriyani (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesian women's doubles Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu praised the appearance of the host representatives Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota in the final Group A match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Tuesday.

Hirota's condition is not one hundred percent fit after suffering an ACL injury in his right knee since last month, so he had to use a brace throughout the match. The recovery is also known to have only run about 70-80 percent.

"Extraordinary. We applaud them (Fukushima/Hirota). As a fellow athlete who plays in the Olympics, I get the encouragement from Hirota. I can feel his struggle with his injury, because I've been through the same thing. So, I really appreciate them both," said Greysia in an official statement from the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) as reported by Antara, Tuesday, July 27.

However, for Greysia/Apriyani, the opponent is still the opponent. So they only focus on collecting points and don't want to care too much about the opponent's condition on the field.

In a match that lasted for 1 hour and 21 minutes, they won three games over the Japanese pair with a score of 24-22, 13-21, 21-8. Whereas in terms of ranking, Greysia/Apriyani is ranked sixth in the world, while Fukushima/Hirota is the world's number one pair.

"After all, they are our opponents on the pitch. So I don't want to think he's injured or fit. All we think about is how we perform on the pitch and get point by point. Just brush. There's no pity," said Greysia.

As for strategy, Apriyani said calm and patience were the keys to the game. In addition, they must also be good at managing the rhythm of the game and continue to play with full cohesiveness.

"From the start, we have thought about the strategy of the game. We also try to set the rhythm on the pitch, stay calm, be patient. Our game is unified, so we can anticipate the balls from the opponent. We also don't think too much about the group winners. We just want to enjoy and play this match,” said Apriyani.

On the other hand, regarding the quiet atmosphere without spectators, Greysia and Apriyani admitted that they had no problem with it. They fully understand because they are currently in a COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Instead, they appreciated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic committee who were willing to work hard to hold this prestigious event.

"We did not lose the cheers of the audience because we are aware of this pandemic. Instead, this is done to protect us all, and we appreciate the Tokyo 2020 committee because they want to carry out this Olympics. So, we only focus on the field," said Apriyani.

Greysia/Apriyani then advanced to the quarter-finals as winners of Group A, followed by Fukushima/Hirota in second place. Meanwhile, Malaysian representatives Chow Mei Kuan/Lee Meng Yean were in third place and the British pair Chloe Birch/Lauren Smith finished fourth.