JAKARTA - Indonesian women's singles, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, said she was not afraid to face Thailand's group N winner Ratchanok Intanon in the round of 16 of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Gregoria, who is 21 years old, said he didn't want to waste his chance and assessed that the opportunity to win the match was wide open.
"I don't care who the opponent I will face in the round of 16 later. I'm ready to give my best, whoever the opponent is. I don't want to waste this valuable opportunity", said Gregoria on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website, Wednesday, reported by Antara.
In terms of ranking, the athlete from the land of the white elephant is indeed far superior. Currently, Ratchanok is the sixth-ranked player in the world, while Gregoria occupies the 23rd position.
Before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Gregoria and Ratchanok had previously met in seven tournaments. They first met at the 2018 Indonesia Open, and most recently the 2020 Malaysia Masters championship.
However, from the seven meetings, Gregoria has never once beaten Ratchanok.
"So, I don't want to waste the opportunity that I have got (to qualify for the last 16). I want to take advantage and maximize all the opportunities that exist", said Gregoria.
Gregoria advanced to the round of 16 after completing the preliminary phase and came out as the winner of Group M. In the first qualifying Sunday, July 25, she defeated Myanmar's Thet Htar Thuzar 21-11, 21-8.
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Then in the second round on Wednesday, she won 21-11, 21-17 over Belgian representative Lianne Tan.
Regarding the match against Lianne Tan, the athlete who graduated from the PB Mutiara Cardinal Bandung badminton club admitted that he could play more freely. He also admitted that he did not feel as tense as he experienced in the previous match.
Furthermore, the Wonogiri-born player revealed that the victory she won today gave her more motivation to face the next battle in the last 16.
"Today I played much better than the first time. The first time I still felt very tense, now it's not. Maybe because I already know the conditions of the field. This victory gives me more motivation for the next match. I will give my best", concluded Gregoria.
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