The battle between the two pairs was very tense, especially during the rubber-set. When The Daddies was leading the game by 8 points, Endo/Watanabe was slowly catching up the point difference until the score turned into 20-19 for the Japanese pair. Although the match was very intense, Hendra/Ahsan managed to show their qualities and experience.
“Thank god we can make it past this crucial match as we were actually leading, things were going well but they managed to catch up and turned the position around. But, thank god we won it,” said Mohammad Ahsan after the match.
Furthermore, Ahsan claims that Endo/Watanabe has a tight defense and it was difficult to make it past that kind of defense. Some of Hendra/Ahsan’s attacks were often blocked and returned very well. “We were not patient enough, they often lob the shuttlecock but they have a great defense,” he said.
On the other hand, Hendra Setiawan claims that he received a lot of pressure in the second set. The World’ No. 4 pair was playing under the pressure from the opponent and had to admit the Endo/Watanabe’s superiority in the second set. “In the second set they changed their plays and they gave a lot of drives, we were not ready and were put under the pressure. The opponent steals many points from that,” said Hendra.
The pair’s maturity and the high miles have allowed them to turn the situation around and helped them to grab the victory.
“It’s true that experience plays a role there, what’s important was not to give up easily until the last point. We as the player didn’t feel tense, but maybe the supporters are. We thought that we should keep the match up as it was still match point, so we tried,” he said.
Indonesian Men’s Singles team secures at least one spot in the final match of Indonesia Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 1000 should Hendra/Ahsan face Fajar Alfian/Muhammaf Rian Ardianto in the semifinal round of the tournament. This condition will come true should Fajar/Rian made it past the Japanese pair, Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi in the match that will be played later in the evening.
