“Actually I really don’t think about the drawing result, but it still bothers me, why do we have to face our own friend on the first round?” said Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
Based on the rank and experience, Hafiz/Gloria is the more favored pair compared to the other pair. Looking back at the head-to-head history, the world’s No. 6 Mixed Doubles pair is superior to Rinov/Mentari pair by 1-0 record. The last time both of these pairs met was during the Singapore Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 500 on April 2019. At that time, Hafiz/Gloria won the match against Rinov/Mentari through a two-set match of 21-7 and 21-11.
“Rinov/Mentari must be playing all-out because they will play us, the more senior and the better seeded pair. Our target is at least to be better than last year, Semifinal stage. Our experience and our seed for this tournament shall be our motivation. But, in the arena nobody really knows, moreover by playing at home in Indonesia we shall expect surprises. To overcome this, we are trying to be more relaxed, think positively and of course, trying our best during the match,” she added.
Despite being more favored, Hafiz/Gloria is said to keeping their eye closely on their junior’s performance, Rinov/Mentari. Moreover, the performance of the Junior World Champion 2017, Rinov/Mentari, is significantly improving after taking the runner-up position during the recent Swiss Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 300 that was held in March.
“If we were to speak about confidence, definitely we are confident that we can overcome this challenge. We must be optimistic. In Istora, I expect amazing support from the fans. For me, It is okay for the fans to support whoever they want, what matters is that they support Indonesia,” She said.
Indonesia’s Mixed Doubles team will send 6 pairs for Blibli Indonesia Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 1000. Other than Hafiz/Gloria and Rinov/Mentari, there are Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti, Tontowi Ahmad/Winny Oktavina Kandow, Alfian Eko Prasetya/Marsheilla Gischa Islami and Ronald Alexander/Annisa Saufika.
With 6 Indonesian Mixed Doubles pairs playing for this tournament, it is expected that there will be more “civil war” happening on this tournament.
