SHAH ALAM – It was a proud moment for the Indonesian doubles pair of Lanny Tria Mayasari and Ribka Sugiarto as they defeated their idols, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, in the women’s team event quarterfinals of the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC).
The world number 30 pair created a shock by defeating the world 14 Malaysian pair 21-14, 18-21, 21-15 in the match, which lasted 59 minutes at the Setia City Convention Centre here today.
For the record, the Indonesian pair had never played against the Malaysians since making their international tournament debut in 2014.
“We feel so happy to have defeated one of the best players in the game, especially in our first attempt against them.
“We were nervous at first when we stepped onto the court because we have so much respect for both of them. They are our role models, and we always watch their highlights and techniques on YouTube back in Indonesia.
“We even watched their YouTube highlights yesterday to analyse the way they play so that we could emerge triumphant against them.
“We stayed calm and followed our coaches’ advice, and we are happy that our efforts finally paid off,” said Ribka when met by Scoop after the match.
Ribka also expressed her hope to continue her winning momentum with her partner and to clinch the BATC for the second edition in a row.
Two years ago, they were crowned champions after defeating South Korea 3-1 in the final.
“It’s every player’s dream to be a part of such a prestigious tournament, and winning a tournament like this will definitely boost our confidence as we are a really young team.
“We hope to maintain our form and continue to contribute as many points as possible for our team to emerge victorious in this tournament,” Ribka added.
Pearly-Thinaah’s defeat was followed by the rest of their teammates losing 0-3 in today’s quarterfinals against Indonesia.
The national women’s team is officially out of the BATC, for which the top four teams qualify for the Uber Cup finals in China, taking place from April 28 to May 5.
Indonesia will face Thailand for a place in the final tomorrow morning. – February 16, 2024