Malaysia Open 2023: Fajar/Rian Jaga Asa Ganda Putra After Hendra/Ahsan Kandas In Quarter Finals
JAKARTA - Indonesian men's doubles, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto managed to penetrate the semifinals of the Malaysia Open 2023 after overthrowing representatives of Malaysia. Victory through this rubber game made Fajar/Rian qualify as Indonesia's third representative in the semifinals.
In the match at Axiata Arena on Friday, January 13 evening WIB, Fajar/Rian fought extra to secure a ticket to the semifinals. 75 minutes passed to conquer Malaysian representatives, Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi with a final score of 14-21, 21-16 and 21-17.
Fajar/Rian were left behind in the first game, representatives of Malaysia took the lead at the starting point and continued to reap points until they were 11-7 ahead. Had tried to catch up, but Fajar/Rian's efforts still did not bear fruit because they gave up 14-21 in the first game.
In the second game, Fajar/Rian tried to turn things around by chasing a lag. At the beginning of Fajar/Rian's points were superior, but the hosts were overtaken by the representative at 7-7. It didn't last long for Fajar/Rian's superior score to be achieved again at the interval this time with a score of 11-8.
After the second break, Fajar/Rian again stepped on the gas to collect points. A fairly calm appearance against opponents helped them to secure the second game to win 21-16.
The draw between representatives of Malaysia and Indonesia forced the match to continue into the third game to determine the ticket to the semifinals. This time Fajar/Rian was confident enough and more careful to be able to lead 11-8 in the third interval until they finally won 21-17.
The results in the quarter-finals will bring Fajar/Rian to challenge South Korean representatives, Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Sung-jae who won over Indonesian representatives, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan.
After going through a fierce struggle in three games that lasted for 54 minutes, Kang/Seo finally overturned the fifth-ranked men's doubles with a final score of 13-21, 21-19 and 21.