KUALA LUMPUR: Defending women’s doubles champions Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti-Apriyani Rahayu’s challenge in the 2023 Malaysia Open badminton championships came to an abrupt end when they had to concede a walkover due to an injury in the semi-finals at the Axiata Arena today.
Apriyani, 24, and Siti Fadia, 22, took the first game 21-9 against world number one Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan of China but, with the Indonesians trailing 2-0 in the second game, Siti Fadia fell and injured her ankle, thus forcing them to concede a walkover after 33 minutes.
“I was shocked when Siti Fadia landed awkwardly after jumping for a shot. I told her that if she can, we should continue but it’s okay if if she can’t because only she knows how painful it is.
“Siti Fadia hurt her ankle, hopefully it’s not serious. Usually, an ankle injury heals quite fast and, if possible, we will go for next week’s India Open. Otherwise, we’ll skip it,” said Apriyani.
Following their withdrawal, the China pair will take on South Koreans Baek Ha Na-Lee Yu Lim in the title showdown tomorrow.
Meanwhile, world number 20 Ha Na-Yu Lim stunned world number four Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu of China 21-17, 23-21 after a 72-minute battle in the other semi-final.
Ha Na, 22, said it was great that they were able to lift their game with some quality shots in the final moments of the hard-fought second game although “we were physically and mentally ready to play in the decider”.
“We are getting more confident. So, tomorrow we hope to go on the attack but it won’t be an easy match. We want to play without regrets,” she said through a translator. - Bernama
