CHENNAI/CHENGDU: The long wait is over for the Indonesia women’s badminton team. The unbridled reactions after sealing a win (3-0) over Thailand in the quarterfinal meeting of the ongoing Uber Cup in Chengdu (China) spoke a thousand words.
As soon as Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo won her women’s singles tie, thereby sealing the deal in her team’s favour, she went down on her knees and raised both her arms wide with a beaming smile on her face. It was a pure moment of joy as her victory meant Indonesia will be returning with a medal for the first time in 14 years in the competition.
Ester was clearly the underdog going into her match against World No 16 Supanida Katethong on the day. But momentum was on Indonesia’s side after winning their opening two ties. However, the World No 38 conceded the first game before making a remarkable turnaround. Ester eventually won 19-21, 21-19, 21-19.
“I was leading in the third game but I was so exhausted and I couldn’t move at all. I just tried to reset my mind and I saw my friends cheering for me and that gave me some energy and I told myself to keep pushing,” Ester told BWF, while reflecting on the match.
Before Ester’s monumental effort, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung had pulled off a vital win over senior pro Ratchanok Intanon in the opening tie. The World No 9 doubles pair of Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti had played their part by beating Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-17, 21-14. Indonesia will meet Korea, who beat Chinese Taipei 3-0, in the semis on Saturday. China will play Japan in the other semifinal.