Indonesia Wins One Champion Title at Badminton Open

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesia won one champion title in the Djarum Indonesia Badminton Open 2013 after its men's double players Mohamad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan defeated their South Korean opponents in the finals on Sunday. Ahsan/Hendra were the only players representing the country in the final round after their compatriots were all beaten in the semifinal round on Saturday. With their superb performance Ahsan/Hendra beat Ko Sung Hyun/Lee Yong Dae 21-14, 21-18 in 39 minutes in the final round. "Of course we had a special burden being the only players to represent the country but we did not think about it and played all out," Ahsan said. Hendra meanwhile said they had indeed played maximally. "Today we played quite well. We have learned their play before," he added. He said he and Ahsan applied an attack system and it had successfully pressured their Korean opponents. Although the Korean cloud lead 15-16 in the second set Hendra said he and Ahsan could finally control the game. "Their defense was not too bad. Although they played faster in the second set we have anticipated it," he said. This was the second champion title after the one they won at Malaysia Open to improve their rank from number 13 to eight or seven in the world. Ahsan and Hendra said after the victory they would prepare themselves for the world championship in August. "We are ready to meet the target of winning the world championship," Hendra said and his determination was shared by Ahsan. Their coach, Herry, also expressed readiness to prepare them for the world championship after following a Singapore Open next week. "Effective preparations for five weeks after Singapore Open are enough. We are hoping for the better," he said. (*)