In the XD,
Tantowi Ahmad/Yulianti managed to increase their points against He Hanbin/Yu Yang....15 and 16 this time, vs 10 and 12 at the German Open 2008. So, a noticeable improvement from this promising XD pair. I wouldnt lose too much sleep about their loss....given they have won 3 titles last year, including the Vietnam Open GP. A nice job in getting 2720 additional pts to strive for top 20 ranking by end of this year.
Mohd Rijal/Greysia Polii continue their fine run after their absence for so long in qualifying for their 3rd QF this year. Let's see how they fare against the World No 3 today. I predict another 3-setter.
Devin Lahardi/Lita Nurlita's loss further confirm my suspicion that this pair can only be a backup pair and not INA's main XD pair after the Olympics. PBSI to groom Towi/Yuli and Rijal/Grace to be the successor of Nova/Butet and Flandy/Vita.
In the MD, a credibe effort by
Anggun Nugroho/Devin Lahardi as they won 16 and 19 pts against Guo Zhendong/Xie Zhongbo. More hopes will be placed on the non-Pelatnas pairs of
Rian Sukmawan/Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki and
Tony Gunawan/Candra Wijaya. Tony/Candra should enter the Final now, while Rian/Yoke face an uphill task against Guo/Xie today.
In the WD, disappointment for
Jo Novita/Greysia Polii as they lost ground to their compatriot
Rani Mundiasti/Endang Nursugianti in their bid for an Olympic spot. Jo/Grace lost meekly to Jiang Yanmei/Li Yujia...esp in the first set. However, Rani/Endang fought against the Nippon gals bravely and won in a tough 65 mins battle. If Rani/Endang can somewhat emerge champions here, then, Jo/Grace can say goodbye to Beijing.
Finally,
Lita Nurlita/Nitya Krishinda prove that they will be INA's main WD pair after the Olympics (with Jo Novita and Vita Marissa's impending withdrawal from Pelatnas). They beat the Chinese-Taipei pair in 3 closely fought sets 20-22, 21-14, 21-19. The match lasted 80 mins
