Olympic Medallists Polii And Rahayu Secure Spot In Indonesia Open Finals

Olympic badminton gold medallists Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu secured a spot in the Indonesia Open finals after defeating Thailand's Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai in two straight sets on Saturday

Jakarta, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Nov, 2021 ) :Olympic badminton gold medallists Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu secured a spot in the Indonesia Open finals after defeating Thailand's Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai in two straight sets on Saturday.

The Indonesian women's double beat the Thai pair 21-18, 21-14 in 58 minutes in the tournament held in the resort island Bali.

They will now face Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Chida, who bagged the Indonesia Masters title last week.

Natsuyama and Chida went through to the finals after scoring a victory against South Korean Baek Ha-na and Lee Yu-rim.

In men's doubles, the world number one Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Gideon also netted a spot in the finals after defeating India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty 21-16, 21-18 in a 44-minute game.

"We played better today, we attacked since the beginning and we pushed for a fast game because we know this Indian duo are strong and powerful," Gideon said after the match.

The Indonesian duo, affectionately known by their fans as "The Minions", will face Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi.

In men's singles, Danish badminton ace Viktor Axelsen is through to the finals after defeating Indonesia's Jonatan Christie.

The world number two, who is favored to win the men's singles title, beat Christie 21-19, 21-15.

"It was a tough game for me, Jonatan is a tough competition and I respect him," the Olympic gold medallist said after the match.

The Indonesia Open takes place from November 23-28 and the season-ending BWF Tour finals run December 1-5.

Tour badminton has been badly hit by the pandemic, with recent games being the first tournaments in Asia in almost a year and taking place without fans in a Covid-secure bubble.