Indonesia win two titles in Yonex Sunrise Indonesia Masters GP Gold
Indonesia's scratch pair of Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo sprang a pleasant surprise for the home fans by winning the men's doubles title in their first competition - the Yonex Sunrise Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold.
In the finals played in Balikpapan in East Kalimantan on Sunday the Indonesian pair outplayed China's Han Cheng Kai-Zhou Haodong 21-16, 21-18 in 31 minutes on a day when Indonesia also swept the mixed doubles title through Ronald Alexander-Melati Daeva Oktavianti.
Kevin Sanjaya's regular partner is Marcus Fernaldi Gideon who is recuperating from injury and Wahyu was brought in as his partner to compete in the USD120,000 Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold.
"What can I say. This is remarkable for me. I was lucky to have Kevin as my partner and he turned out to be an asset in our matches," said Wahyu.
"At the start of the tournament I was still groggy with my game. However, as the tournament progressed I became self-motivated and we took a more aggressive approach in our game.
"It paid off. I must thank Kevin for the guidance and his experience of playing at high level tournaments gave us the edge. This win is for the people of Indonesia."
In the mixed doubles Ronald-Melati, the second seeds in Balikpapan, attributed their success to doing their homework well for their 21-16, 21-17 win over Malaysia's third seeds Tan Kian Meng-Lee Pei Jing.
This is the first title for Ronald-Melati this year. The last time they were on the podium was at the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold in 2015.
Ronald said they had studied the Malaysians' game and cutting off the Malaysian pair's strong points gave them the edge. Ronald-Melati had watched Kian Meng-Pei Jing play against Edi Subaktiar-Richi Puspita Dili (Indonesia) in the semi-finals.
"We adopted a more attacking game in the final. After knowing their strong and weak points we were more focused and determined to win the title," said Ronald.
Meanwhile, top seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand gave a dominant performance to beat Malaysia's number eight seed Goh Jin Wei 21-15, 21-13 in the women's singles final.
Jin Wei, who is the reigning world junior champion, had toppled second seed Nitchaon Jindapol (Thailand) in the semi-finals on Saturday, was not able to raise her game against the aggressive Busanan.
Lack of experience also played a part in Jin Wei's failure in the final. The Malaysian was let down by several unforced errors as the Thai, ranked No 18, smashed her way to the title in 42 minutes.
The all-China men's singles final turned out to be an anti-climax when Huang Yuxiang retired in the second set against Shi Yuqi. Shi Yuqi was leading 21-12, 11-0 after 23 minutes of play when Yuxiang called it quits due to injury.
Korea took the women's doubles title with Chae Yoo-jung-Kim So-yeong (fourth seeds) running out 21-18, 22-20 winners over Thailand's third seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai in 54 minutes.
RESULTS (ALL-FINALS)
Men's singles
Shi Yuqi (Chn) beat Huang Yuxiang (Chn) 21-12, 11-0 (rtd)
Men's doubles
Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira-Kevin Sanjay Pankaryanira (Ina) beat Han Chengkai-Zhou Haodong (Chn) 21-16, 21-18
Women's Singles
Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) beat Goh Jin Wei (Mas) 21-15, 21-13
Women's Doubles
Chae Yoo-jung-Kim So-yeong (Kor) beat Jongkolphon Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjar (Tha) 21-18, 22-20
Mixed Doubles
Ronald Alexander-Melati Daeva Oktivianti (Ina) beat Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (Mas) 21-16. 21-17
Related Article
World and Olympic Champions Competing at the BAMTC 2023
Job Vacancy: Chief Operating Officer
