Gregoria Mariska Tunjung Advances to Paris Olympic Semifinals After Defeating Ratchanok Intanon

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian women's singles badminton player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung has advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics. She qualified after defeating Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon in the quarterfinals at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, France, on Saturday, August 3, 2024.

Gregoria entered the 2024 Olympics as the seventh seed. Against Intanon, she managed to win in a 47-minute match with a final score of 25-23, 21-9.

The Game

The competition was fierce right from the start of the first game as Gregoria and Intanon took turns leading the game. The Indonesian representative finally took a narrow 11-10 lead at the interval after Gregoria released a cross smash that fell smoothly into the opponent's court.

After the break, the match continued to be fierce. Both players were again involved in counterattacks and the score was tied several times until the setting period.

The first game ended 25-23 in Gregoria's favor after she scored three consecutive points, two of which came from Intanon's outhits.

The second game was another fierce duel. Both players took turns leading the game until the score was tied at 5-5. However, Gregoria managed to gain momentum by scoring consecutive points to take an 11-6 lead at the interval.

A five-point lead boosted the Indonesian's confidence. The 24-year-old continued to pile the pressure on Intanon, who seemed to have lost her concentration, to take a commanding 19-6 lead.

Gregoria finally sealed the second game 21-9 after her cross-net shot was unstoppable by Ratchanok Intanon. This win means a lot for both Gregoria and the Indonesian badminton team at the 2024 Olympics.

For Gregoria, the victory was the perfect revenge after being eliminated by Intanon in the last 16 of the 2020 Olympics three years ago. The athlete from Wonogiri also managed to repeat the feat of Maria Kristin Yulianti as the last Indonesian women's singles player to reach the last four at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

For the Indonesian badminton team, Gregoria's victory kept their hopes alive for a medal at Paris 2024. Previously, Indonesia had lost four badminton players who were eliminated in the group stage. Meanwhile, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto fared slightly better as they lost in the quarterfinals.

However, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung still has a long way to go to win a medal as she has to face An Se-young (South Korea) in the semifinals of the 2024 Olympics. An Se-young, who is the top seed, qualified for the semifinals after a sweet comeback to defeat Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) 15-21, 21-17, 21-8.

The Women's Singles Badminton Semifinals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place tomorrow, Sunday, August 4, 2024.

ARKHELAUS WISNU TRIYOGO

Editor's Choice: Gregoria Mariska Indonesia's Sole Hope in Paris Olympics Quarterfinals

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News