Indonesian men’s badminton doubles pair Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto are eyeing the group champion position in the final match of the 2024 Paris Olympics group stage against third seeds from India, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty.
“Alhamdulillah, I’m quite happy to be able to reach the quarter finals, but we’re not satisfied yet. Now we want to aim for the group champion position first,” said Fajar, quoted from a brief statement from PP PBSI, Monday (29/7).
Fajar/Rian secured their ticket to the quarter-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics after beating the host’s representatives Lucas Corvete/Ronan Labar in two straight games 21-13 and 21-10.
Regarding the course of the match, the world’s seventh-ranked men’s doubles admitted that they were able to perform according to the strategy they had prepared beforehand.
“Today, our game is better than the first match. We are more in control of the arena situation even against the home team with supporters
which is typical of football supporters. But we are more proactive in attacking and more confident,” Fajar explained.
Before meeting the host pair, Fajar/Rian had actually already pocketed one win in the group phase.
Also read: Fajar/Rian Can’t Wait to Appear in Their First Olympics
However, Fajar/Rian’s victory in the previous match, against the German pair Mark Lamsfuss/Marvin Seidel, did not give them additional points because their opponents decided to withdraw from the Olympics due to injury.
As per the BWF General Competition Rules for the group stage, the results of all matches played, or yet to be played, involving a player who decides to withdraw from the competition, are deemed void.
However, the defending All England Open champion admitted that he still took the positive side of this.
“With the withdrawal of the German pair, our points are back to zero, but we are trying to take the positive side. They did not withdraw from the start so we had the opportunity to try the field first,” said Fajar.
The match between Fajar/Rian and Rankireddy/Shetty is scheduled to take place on Tuesday (30/7) at 19.00 WIB. (Ant/Z-1)
#Won #Ticket #Quarter #Finals #Paris #Olympics #FajarRian #Determined #Group #Champion
