SINGAPORE - As the sold-out crowd at the Indoor Stadium shot to their feet and roared in delight at the match-winning point, Indonesian player Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti hunched over and tapped her left heel twice. Quirky celebration or superstition?
"I was hitting it to say: Thank you, thank you!" the 21-year-old explained to The Straits Times with a sheepish smile.
She and her partner Apriyani Rahayu had just beaten Chinese pair Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu 21-14, 21-17 in the women's doubles final of the Singapore Badminton Open on Sunday (July 17), and Fadia explained she had been nursing a heel injury since the quarter-finals on Friday.
The pair's win was among three triumphs by Indonesian shuttlers - the other two being men's singles champion Anthony Ginting and the men's doubles pair of Leo Rolly Carnando & Daniel Marthin - which thrilled the 6,000-strong crowd, many of whom were behind them.
Said Fadia: "Since the quarter-final, our trainer kept asking me: 'Do you want to keep playing or withdraw (from the tournament)?'"
"But I wanted to push myself to continue. I knew I had it in me to keep fighting."
Her resilience was rewarded with the Singapore Open title, which is the second triumph on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Tour for the new Indonesian pair.
Apriyani, 24, won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last August with then-partner Greysia Polii, who has since retired.
She then started a new partnership with Fadia - nicknamed "PriFad" by Indonesian fans - ahead of the Hanoi SEA Games in May, and enjoyed immediate success in the Vietnamese capital.
On the BWF Tour, they have reached at least the quarter-finals in five consecutive tournaments, winning the Malaysia Open earlier this month before Sunday's triumph.
Said Apriyani: "I'm transitioning from my pairing with Greysia... I used to be the follower (in a pair), now I'm the leader.
"I'm like the older sister now, and we will continue to strive forward and achieve the best we can and hope that Fadia reaches her potential. I know she has what it takes. We just have to make sure we get it out of her."
Because they are so new, the pairing is still ranked only 62nd in the world, but "PriFad" have a clear sight of where they are heading to. Asked if Olympic glory was their ultimate target, both said, in sync: "For sure."
The Singapore Open was capped with an enthralling battle for the men's singles title, in which Ginting saw off a spirited challenge from Japan's Kodai Naraoka to win 23-21, 21-17 in 53 action-packed minutes.
Ginting, who had won a bronze medal in the men's singles competition at the Tokyo Olympics and is ranked sixth in the world, had to be at his best to defeat world No. 43 Naraoka.
They found their rhythm deep into the first game and served up long, exciting rallies for the crowd. But the Indonesian's experience showed in the end.
Ginting, who was playing in his first final this year, said: "It was a very tough match and Kodai played very well... It's not easy to get a point from him."
The 25-year-old hurled his racket on the floor upon winning the match and said: "(This win) means everything to me. I was very emotional after winning the last point, because I was waiting for it for so long... Finally I can get out of the struggle of the last six months. Finally."
Up-and-coming Naraoka, who had upset Indonesia's former Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie in the round of 16, said: "I've beaten higher-ranked opponents this week and I'm really happy with that... I really think I've improved a lot."
Results
Men's singles: Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Idn) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 23-21, 21-17
Women's singles: P.V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Wang Zhiyi (Chn) 21-9, 11-21, 21-15
Men's doubles: Leo Rolly Carnando & Daniel Marthin (Idn) bt Fajar Alfian & Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Idn) 9-21, 21-14, 21-16
Women's doubles: Apriyani Rahayu & Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Idn) bt Zhang Shuxian & Zheng Yu (Chn) 21-14, 21-17
Mixed doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh & Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha) bt Wang Yilyu & Huang Dongping (Chn) 21-12, 21-17
