Indonesian women’s doubles Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu created two new records in the history of Indonesian badminton after securing a step to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics final.
There are at least two extraordinary records created by Greysia/Polii after beating Lee So Hee/Shin Seung Chan from South Korea 21-19 and 21-17 at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, Tokyo, Saturday (31/7), in the semifinals.
The first record that Greysia/Apriyani set was that they became the first Indonesian women’s doubles to qualify for the Olympic finals.
Previously, Greysia/Apriyani had created a new history as the first Indonesian women’s doubles to qualify for the Olympic semifinals. Since badminton was officially competed at the Olympics in 1992, no Indonesian women’s doubles have been able to get past the quarter-finals.
Previously there were four Indonesian women’s doubles who were able to qualify for the quarter-finals: Lili Tampi/Finarsih at the 1992 Olympics, Eliza Nathanael/Zelin Resiana at the 1996 Olympics, Etty Tantri/Cynthia Tuwankotta at the 2000 Olympics, and Greysia Polii/Nitya Krishinda Maheswari at the 2016 Olympics.
The second record that was set by Greysia/Apriyani after their success in the Tokyo Olympics final was that the world number 6 pair was confirmed to be the first Indonesian women’s doubles team to win a medal at the Olympics.
Furthermore, Greysia/Apriyani will try to compete for the gold medal in women’s doubles badminton at the Tokyo Olympics by facing the winner between the second seed from China Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan vs. Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong from South Korea.
The women’s doubles Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu asked for the prayers and support of all Indonesians to win the gold medal after confirming the step to the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the final round of women’s doubles at the Tokyo Olympics which will take place Monday (2/8), Greysia/Apriyani will face the winner between the second seed Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan against Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong from South Korea.
Apriyani said that she had not thought about the final match and was trying to make the best possible recovery. Apriyani also asked for prayers and support from the Indonesian people in order to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
“What is certain is that we want to try our best, not thinking too much about how to play. We still have one day of recovery time and try to get better preparations. We ask for the support and prayers of the Indonesian people,” said Apriyani in an interview after the match.
Meanwhile, Greysia was grateful for all the support she got with Apriyani so that she could qualify for the final round of the Tokyo Olympics.
“We are grateful that everyone supports us. The medical team, apart from that Apriyani’s mentality is also supportive. I continue to pray for strength,” said Greysia.
