VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Women's doubles players Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu became the first in the Merah Putih Squad to secure a place in the final round of the Indonesia Open tournament 2021 on Sunday. (ANTARA/Roy Rosa Bachtiar/KT) - 

Indonesia's Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu smashed through the semi-finals in the women's doubles of BWF Super 1000 Indonesia Open tournament, beating Thailand's Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai on Saturday.

Polii and Rahayu won two straight games, scoring 21-18, 21-14, after struggling for 58 minutes, to beat their third-seeded opponents and win a place in the finals.

"Although the match did not reach one hour, it felt long. (We are) lucky and grateful for today's result," Polii remarked when Antara met her after the match in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Saturday.

Polii and Rahayu, who previously clinched gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, played a confident game and were unified in executing attacks. Their serves were brave and accurate.

The match also saw some score-chasing, but the Indonesian pair managed to endure and lead in both games, albeit with difficulty. Kititharakul and Prajongjai, meanwhile, seemed under pressure and could not develop their strategy.

However, the Thai pair received a chance when Polii and Rahayu made a mistake in their rush to win. Seeing an opportunity, Kititharakul and Prajongjai managed to rise and catch up.

Thanks to their solid cohesiveness and communication, Polii and Rahayu managed to gain back control by the time the second game was completed.

"There is still tomorrow. We want to restore our body and mind, eat and sleep well," Rahayu said about her preparations for her upcoming and first final game of the Indonesia Open.

The victory has increased Polii and Rahayu's lead in their meeting record to 7–1, and they will face either South Korea or Japan in the final round.

In the semifinals of the upper pool women's doubles, Baek Ha Na and Lee Yu Rim will soon face Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida. One of the teams will go up against the Indonesian pair in the final.

Nevertheless, Indonesia still has the opportunity to add two tickets to the final round of the Indonesia Open in the men's doubles (Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo) and the men's singles (Jonatan Christie).

World's top-seeded Gideon and Sukamuljo will face Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India, while Christie will face Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist Viktor Axelsen of Denmark//ANT