Playing against Chang Ye Na/Jung Kyung Eun from South Korea, the 2017 world champion had to play a three-set match to secure the ticket to the second round. Chen/Jia managed to outplay Chang/Jung by 13-21, 21-17, and 21-17.

“Today’s game is quite difficult for us since this is our first match of the tournament so it was difficult for us to control the wind and the other issues. To be able to win today is amazing,” as expressed by Jia after the game.

Chen/Jia claimed that the key to today’s win is the difference in physical condition between them and the opponent, as there is a huge age difference between these two pairs. Chen/Jia are 21 years old, while Chang/Jung are 28 years old.

“The Korean pair is more experienced than us, thus their strategy and game pattern are better than us. Fortunately, the match went to the rubber game, so we use our physical advantage against them,” said Jia.

In contrast, Chen, who only plays in one event for Blibli Indonesia 2018, claimed that she can focus more in the women’s doubles event by not participating in this year’s mixed doubles event.

“I actually obey my coach’s direction to only play in one event. It is certain that I can be more focused by playing only in one event, and this is also my preparation for Asian Games,” Chen added.