Nugroho Lukhi Apri and Amelia Ririn enter into final of the Badminton Asia Youth U-19 Championships
Indonesia’s Nugroho Lukhi Apri and Amelia Ririn secured a berth in the Mixed Doubles final as they toppled China’s Chen Zhuofu and Xiong Rui in the semi-final of the 2011 Badminton Asia Youth U-19 Championships, in India, on Friday, July 8.
The Indonesians finished-off the match in straight-sets by consuming 49 minutes in the court.
The opening set started in an aggressive fashion from both sides, as the speed of the rallies was at maximum level. Then, gradually the speed and control of the Indonesians became better and they managed a three-point lead of 11-8 at the end of the first-half.
After the break, Nugroho and Amelia continued their better play in the opening game and put up a scintillating show, giving no chance to the Chinese pair to fight back in the set. The Indonesians finished-off the first game by a margin of 21-15, in just
15 minutes.
In the second game of the match, both couples entertained the huge crowd that turned around to watch the best junior players in Asia competing to win the Asian Junior Championship title. Both sides worked really well in the starting points by playing fast
badminton and the score reached 5-5.
At this stage the Indonesians put more speed in their strokes and earned a 10-7 lead against their Chinese rivals, who were coming a little late at the net. However, they geared up their speed and drew near at 10-11, at the end of the opening half of the
second game.
After the interval, Nugroho and Amelia became a little slow which helped the Chinese couple to take a lead of 18-14. The Indonesian couple tried to catch up with the difference in the score, but failed against their challengers and lost the game by a margin
of 18-21, in 16 minutes.
The third game was absolutely entertaining, as both couples were tied until the interval in the set where the Chinese players were slightly ahead at 11-9. At this stage of the match, the Indonesians started to display a game of the highest level, proving
that they are ready to win the title.
Nugroho and Amelia scored seven consecutive points to seal the game with a 21-14 margin. The concluding result of the 49-minute battle was 21-15, 18-21 and 21-14.
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