Japan Open 2023: Chico and Ahsan/Hendra Struggle, Apriyani/Fadia Are Stuck

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Men’s singles Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo and men’s doubles Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan advanced to the last 16 of the Japan Open 2023. However, women’s doubles Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti were eliminated, Tuesday (25/7/2023) at Yoyogi 1St Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

Chico passed from the round of 32 after beating Israel’s representative, Misha Zilberman, 21-15 and 21-14. Chico stopped the senior players who qualified from it within 38 minutes.

Chico’s steps were also followed by Ahsan/Hendra who advanced after defeating the South Korean pair Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang, 22-20 and 21-15. The seventh seed clinched a place in the last 16 after 34 minutes of battling.

It’s a shame that the second step of the Red and White representatives failed to be followed by women’s doubles Apriyani Rahayu / Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti. They were immediately eliminated in their first game after surrendering to the Japanese doubles, Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida, 12-21, 21-16, 13-21.

Apriyani/Fadia, ranked 12th in the world, surrendered to the seventh place after fighting for 1 hour and 6 minutes.

In the round of 16, Chico will have a tough task because he will meet world number one badminton player, Viktor Axelsen. The athlete from Denmark advanced after stopping Lin Chun-Yi from Taiwan, 21-17, 21-10.

Chico said his initiative to take control of the game was one of the keys to victory over Zilberman. “Thank God, today I was able to go through the match well and without injury. From the start, I tried to immediately control the game. I held the front half of the field so I could issue the strategy that had been prepared,” said the player from Papua.

According to Chico, Zilberman is a senior player who is quite tenacious and difficult to kill several times. However, his patience in attacking allowed Chico to penetrate the 34-year-old badminton player’s defense.

Against Axelsen in the top 16, Chico admitted that he was ready to bring out his best. “Certainly want to try again when competing against Viktor,” he added.

Chico has met Axelsen twice and always lost. The last meeting between these two athletes took place at the Swiss Open, last March 2023. At that time Chico gave up because he was unable to continue the match due to injury.

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