Indonesia and Korea registered their second victories in the women’s Group Z to enhance their chances of qualifying into the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022 at the Setia City Convention Centre here today.
Indonesia followed up on their opening tie win (4-1) over Hong Kong yesterday with a 5-0 rout of Kazakhstan in just 93 minutes.
Putri Kusuma Wardani took over from Gregoria Mariska Tunjung as first singles and had no problem brushing aside Aisha Zumarek 21-8, 21-7 in just 21 minutes. Bilqis Prasista followed suit with an easy 21-4, 21-6 win over Kamila Smagulova in 18 minutes.
Saifi Rizka Nurhidayah sealed the tie in favour of the Indonesians with a 21-4, 21-8 win over Nargiza Rakhmetullayeva while both pairs of Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi and Lanny Tria Mayasari-Jesita Putri Miantoro both needed only 17 minutes to dump their opponent.
Febriana-Amalia beat Arina Sazonova-Aisha Zhumabek 21-3, 21-5 while Lanny-Jesita completed the rout with a 21-6, 21-5 win over Nargiza Rakhmetullayeva/Kamila Smagulova: 21-6, 21-5.
Indonesian coach expressed satisfaction over the performance of his young charges, saying that they are Indonesia’s future badminton stars.
“Yes, our target remains intact, to emerge champion in the tournament with our young set of players. We’ll continue to better ourselves as the tournament progress further,” Djaenudin Herli.
KOREA 5 HONG KONG 0
Despite winning 5-0, Korea were given a tough time as Hong Kong young shuttlers pressured and dragged their the Koreans into rubber sets in all but one match. The Koreans were forced to slog for 243 minutes before sealing their 5-0 win over Hong Kong.
Sim Yujin started the ball rolling with a 21-18, 13-21, 21-11 win over Cheung Ying Mei in 47 minutes before the doubles pair of Baek Ha Na/Seung Yeon Seong ensuring a 2-0 lead with a 21-17, 21-16 win over Yeung Nga Ting-Yeung Pui Lam.
Lee Se Yeon were forced in the longest 58-minute battle before winning over Yeung Sum Yee 21-17, 19-21, 21-13.
Kim Min Ji-Min Jeong Park then needed 44 minutes to get the better of Leung Sze Lok-Yuen Sin Ying 17-21, 21-12, 21-12 while Seo Jin Lee was also given a hard challenge by Lo Sin Yan Happy before completing a 21-16, 17-21, 22-20 win.
Indonesia meet Korea while Hong Kong face Kazakhstan in their last Group Z matches tomorrow (Thursday, 17 Feb).
The Selangor Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022 serves as a qualifier for the 2022 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals scheduled to be held in Bangkok from May 8 to 15.
The tournament, organised by the Selangor Sports Council, is hosted by the Selangor State Government and in collaboration with Badminton Asia and Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), ends on Sunday, February 20.
