Indonesia's Thomas Cup Team Wins All Preliminary Matches, Rionny Mainaky: We Are Ready To Fight To The Death In The Quarter Finals

Illustration - Jonathan Christie (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - PP PBSI's Head of Development and Achievement, Rionny Mainaky, said he was satisfied and relieved to see the performance of the Indonesian team during the preliminary round of Group A of the Thomas Cup.

In the preliminary round of Group A, the Garuda squad won all matches, namely 5-0 over Algeria, 3-2 over Thailand and 3-2 over Taiwan.

"Congratulations we won. Those who lost yesterday can now play well and win. After this victory, please take care of eating and resting, as well as training so that we are ready to fight to the death in the quarter-finals," said Rionny in an official statement from PP PBSI, as reported by Antara, Thursday.

Meanwhile, the men's singles player Shesar Hiren Rhustavito said he was grateful to be able to determine the victory of the Indonesian team against Taiwan today.

“I am grateful, Alhamdulillah, that I was able to win and bring Indonesia as the group winner. Earlier, I was determined to win, not only for my country, but also for myself,” said Shesar.

Despite winning, the 27-year-old admitted that he was tense because he was the determinant of the Red and White team's victory. He also hopes that his victory can boost his confidence during the quarter-final match later.

"I'm tense too. I know the fate of Indonesia is on my shoulders. I fought all out for Indonesia to win. I don't want to just lose either. I focus on my own game and don't want to follow the opponent's pattern," said Shesar.

"This win is very important to increase self-confidence. Hopefully my game will be more stable," he added.

Furthermore, Team Indonesia manager Eddy Prayitno thanked the players for the results they had achieved because they could realize their hopes of coming out as group winners in the prestigious team event.

"Thank you to all the players who have worked hard. Even so, we must not be complacent because the challenges ahead are still tough," concluded Eddy.

The following are the complete results of the last qualifying match for the Thomas Cup Indonesia vs Taiwan Group A (3-2).

Men's singles 1Anthony Sinisuka Ginting vs Chou Tien Chen 22-20, 21-16

Men's doubles 1Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto vs Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin 26-28, 21-16, 14-21

Men's singles 2Jonatan Christie vs Wang Tzu Wei 21-17, 21-13

Men's doubles 2Mohammad Ahsan/Daniel Martin vs Lu Ching Yao/Yang Po Han 20-22, 21-17, 21-23

Men's singles 3Shesar Hiren Rhustavito vs Chi Yu Jen 16-21, 21-18, 21-19