Nervous When The Opponent Asks For A Challenge, Apriyani: We Can't Believe It When The Shuttlecock Is Declared Out And Points For Us

Greysia/Apriyani (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu women's doubles admitted that they still did not expect them to come out as champions and present a gold medal for Indonesia in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

"To be honest, I still didn't expect to be an Olympic champion. We're just trying to win point by point. But we also really want to make history for Indonesian badminton", said Greysia in an official statement from the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), which was launched by Antara, Monday, August 2.

Greysia/Apriyani not only became the first gold contributor for the Red and White team at the Tokyo Olympics but also recorded as the first women's doubles to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

In a match that lasted for 55 minutes at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan, Greysia/Apriyani won in two games with a score of 21-19, 21-15 over the Chinese pair Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan.

Shown full of confidence since entering the main field, Greysia / Apriyani did not want to waste time trying to win point by point. They played with a burning passion, from the beginning to the end of the game.

However, they admitted that they were tense when their opponent asked for a challenge at the deciding point in the second game.

"We are nervous when the opponent asks for a challenge. But we couldn't believe it when the shuttlecock was declared out and it became a point for us at the end of the second game. We really didn't think so. The taste is mixed. Korea and China are strong opponents", said Greysia.

Head-to-head, Chen/Jia is actually more favored because they are the world's number two pair, while Greysia/Apriyani are in sixth place.

In addition, Chen/Jia won 6-3 on aggregate from their total nine meetings with Greysia/Apriyani.

The two pairs last met at the 2019 BWF World Tour Finals tournament, the match was won by Chen/Jia.

For this victory, Apriyani also expressed her happiness. She presented her gold medal to her parents and three older brothers.

“Our journey is long, and I have to learn to mature myself. Today we get all, blessings from Allah and prayers for the family and the people of Indonesia. We are very happy and happy. This gold medal is my dream. This gold medal is for my parents and sister", said Apriyani.