Tuesday, November 1, 2022 – 22:47 WIB
VIVA Sport – The Indonesian mixed doubles coach, Nova Widianto highlighted the mental factor of Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Lisa Ayu Kusumawati who were still not strong enough to undergo an important match so they had to stop in the semifinals of the French Open 2022 in Paris last week.
Rehan/Lisa have not been able to advance to the final of the French Open 2022 after they lost to the Dutch pair Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek in the rubber game which ended with a score of 21-17, 13-21, 12-21.
Rehan/Lisa could actually have secured the top party after winning the first game and leading far in the second game. But they just lost focus and panicked when the opponent slowly started to catch up.
“Rehan/Lisa in the semifinals, I think they still lacked mentality to play. When they were ahead they were tense. That’s wrong, considering they should be calm when they are winning. Overall they have fought optimally,” said Nova through a written statement from PP PBSI. .
Even though they lost, Nova said there was an improvement in the performances of Rehan/Lisa compared to the Denmark Open 2022. The pair ranked 30th in the world was considered to have been able to quickly adapt to conditions on the field. It’s just that Rehan still needs to increase his arm and leg muscle endurance, while Lisa has to improve her quality and game.
Nova also stated that Rehan/Lisa’s semifinal achievement in the Super 750 level tournament was the best result of the Indonesian mixed doubles, especially after the departure of two senior pairs, Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti and Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
