East Java: Do you still remember Sony Dwi Kuncoro? The Athens Olympic bronze medalist 30-year-old Sony Dwi Kuncoro was kicked out of the Indonesia national team last year following a string of below-par tournament performances. Nevertheless, Sony Dwi Kuncoro was able to regain the spotlight at his hometown Surabaya on Sunday, following his latest triumph at the Indonesia International Challenge.
Seeded eighth in the tournament, the more experienced Sony Dwi Kuncoro showed flashes of brilliance mixed with occasional errors, closed out the second seed Jeon Hyeok-Jin of Korea 22-20, 21-15 to capture the Indonesia International Challenge title.
“I received so much love and support from my family today. Huge crowd support with lots of friends kept me motivated. I am really excited to win a championship at home,” said Kuncoro.
“Consistency was key to my victory. I was more patient, and was capable of launching attacks and played effective defense shots,” added Kuncoro.
After the Indonesia International, Kuncoro will play in the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold and then Chinese Taipei Grand Prix.
In women’s singles, the 16-year-old Gregoria Mariska of Indonesia earned a hard-fought win against No. 3 seed Tee Jing Yi of Malaysia when the unseeded Indonesian overcame one set deficit to beat Tee 21-15, 15-21, 21-7 in the women’s singles final.
“I’m thankful for the win despite having played three sets in the final. My opponent shouldn’t have given up her smashes, because she attacked well,” said Mariska after she won the women’s singles title.
Indonesia swept three other titles on Sunday, when Fran Kurniawan/ Komala Dewi defeated Chung Eui Seok/ Hee Yong Kong of Korea 21-12, 16-21, 21-13 in mixed doubles final; No. 6 seeds Gebby Ristiyani Imawan/ Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah won the women’s doubles champion; and No. 4 seeds Berry Angriawan/ Ryan Agung Saputra successfully kept their men’s doubles title at home when the Indonesia duo defeated Jun Bong Chan/ Kim Dae Eun of Korea 12-21, 21-19, 21-15.
