Garuda all set to make best out of Axiata Cup semi-finals – Badminton News
Indonesia Garuda is all set to make best out of Axiata Cup after stamping the prime Malaysian team the Tigers in first leg of semi-finals at Jakarta on March 30, 2012.
Garuda sealed 2-1 victory and raised their points to 116 to elevate their chances of the crown in the first million-dollar team event, the Axiata Cup.
The former World and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat set the ball rolling and outclassed the young Malaysian shuttler Daren Liew who was holding first singles spot in absence of World Number one Lee Chong Wei.
Taufik claimed his fourth straight-set victory in Axiata Cup and gave Garuda an unassailable lead.
The scratch pair Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan justified their presence in the squad and sealed the Indonesian victory by thrashing their competitors Goh V. Shem-Lim Khim Wah in just two games.
The manager of the Indonesia Garuda team Mohd Ferryansyah thinks that the splendid win is result of combine team effort as the new line-up played according to the master plan.
He said, “We played well today to get the win and the line-up was a result of team strategy.”
However, it was not all well at the end as the singles expert Sony Dwi Kuncoro failed to rise against the World Number 32 Hafiz Hashim.
The young Sony could not lift the burden of this defeat and walked away with low shoulders after saying sorry to his country-mates.
He said, “I apologize to all the fans because I failed to win the match. I tried my best but just couldn’t finish him off.”
His failure gave Tigers a chance to keep their hopes alive for the finals and now they can qualify for the final if they beat Garuda with a 3-0 in the second leg of the semi-final.
This situation has flared up the contest as Malaysians are expecting their singles maestro Lee Chong Wei and the prime duo Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong to join the squad in the return leg.
However, the Indonesian team manager Ferryansyah hopes that his team will end this marathon by standing at top on victory stand.
He said, “We want to win this tournament to maintain our record as SEA Games champions. Hopefully, Chong Wei will still be unfit on Sunday as it will make our job easier.”
Indonesia Garuda has an edge over Malaysia Tiger at the points table and it will work in their favour in the semi-finals where set wins and total points earned will decide the finalists of Axiata Cup.
Tags: