Indonesian Shuttlers Win Two Titles at 2017 World Junior Championships
Jakarta. Indonesian women's singles shuttler Gregoria Mariska Tunjung and mixed doubles pair Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari triumphed at the 2017 World Junior Championships' individual event after overcoming opponents in the final stages of the competition in Yogyakarta on Sunday (22/10).
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung achieved victory after finishing a dramatic game with China's Han Yue on rubber sets 21-13, 13-21 and 24-22.
"Today she's more resilient, because I beat her previously only by straight game," Gregoria said of Yue, whom she beat 21-17, 21-17 in a previous mixed-team event two weeks ago, as quoted on the Indonesian Badminton Federation (PBSI) website.
"I just talked to myself to finish the game, and the outcome was good for me," she added.
Meanwhile, Rinov and Pitha, who went on to the finals after seeing off Chinese pair Shiwen Liu and Li Wenmei 18-21, 21-16, 21-13 earlier in the semifinals on Saturday, claimed the gold after beating fellow Indonesians Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Siti Fadia Ramadhanti on rubber sets 21-23, 21-15 and 21-18.
"We know our opponents very well as they're our friends, but the match was tight and everyone tried their best," Rinov said after the win.
The win, however, is a surprise as both Rinov and Pitha have only been paired for two weeks before the tournament began.
"We just trained together as much as possible," Rinov said. "And we played with nothing to lose," Pitha replied.
Another Indonesian pair in the final Jauza Fadhila Sugiarto and Ribka Sugiarto lost to South Korea's Ha Na Baek and Yu Rim Lee on rubber sets 21-18, 11-21 and 3-21 in women's doubles.
Japan's Mahiro Kaneko and Yunosuke Kubota won the top spot in men's doubles after overcoming China's Di Zijian and Wang Chang with rubber sets 21-14, 15-21 and 21-13.
Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn was the best in men's singles after he beat Jun Hao Leong of Malaysia, also with rubber sets 17-21, 21-15 and 21-9.
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