Putri Kusuma Wardani made a new history. She became the first athlete from Indonesia to win the BWF Super 100 Orleans Masters tournament. The figure who is familiarly called Putri KW rose to the championship podium after defeating the representative of the United States, Iris Wang Putri, in the final in France, Sunday (3/4/2022).
The 19-year-old had to fight for 62 minutes to win the title. Putri KW defeated the fourth seed with a rubber game 7-21, 21-19, 21-18. “In the first game, I wanted to quickly kill my opponent. But she turned out to be tenacious, I became impatient,” said Putri KW about her appearance in the first game, quoted from Antara, Monday (4/4). “The second and third games, I control myself more. Calmer and more patient in dealing with the opponent’s shots. Be brave and follow all the instructions of the coach.”
The Orleans Masters 2022 trophy adds to the collection of KW Women’s champions at the senior level. Previously, she won the Spain Masters 2021, Czech Open 2021 and Bahrain International 2021. The results of the 2022 Orleans Masters made Putri KW even more motivated.
She also dedicates this title to his family and people who always support him, including PBSI. “Very grateful, thank God I was able to get through all of this from the beginning to the end. There are no easy opponents. So I am proud of myself.” Putri KW is even more determined to win the title at a higher level. She was aiming for the Super 500 level trophy.
“For now I’m satisfied. I’m just thinking one by one. I want to get all the titles but I can’t immediately. I’ve won the Super 100 and 300 series, in the future I want to try to take the Super 500 title,” she said.
Actually, Indonesia has two representatives in the final of the Orleans Masters 2022. Unfortunately, Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Lisa Ayu Kusumawati failed to get on the main podium. They had to settle for being runners-up because they lost 12-21, 21-16, 13-21 to Singapore’s mixed doubles, Hee Yong Kai Terry/Tan Wei Han, who are the eighth seeds.
Rehan admitted that he was quite tense in the match so he couldn’t play loose. “Even though I have warmed up a lot, it turns out that on the field the tension does not go away,” said Rehan, who was still grateful despite failing to win. “The important thing is that after this we evaluate, practice more vigorously, improve what is lacking,” added the son of a former Indonesian badminton player, Tri Kusharjanto.
