Ricky and Debby won in straight games 21-15, 21-15 in 36 minutes of the play against the world number six pair, as monitored by Antara in Jakarta from the official website of the Badminton World Federation.
It was the first victory for the world number 20 pair from Indonesia over Zhang and Li.
"Actually, we just applied what we had prepared during the training. Our game pattern is the same as that of Zhang and Li. The player, who is able to read (master) the game, will win," the official website of the Indonesian Badminton Association quoted Debby as saying.
Debby further remarked that Zhang and Li played more aggressively in the second game after losing the first one. However, the Indonesian pair continued to maintain its superiority and soon won the match.
"We were able to play what we did in the training. We applied the game pattern as we wished," Ricky stated.
Meanwhile, in the second round of the match to take place on Thursday (Oct 18), the pair of Ricky and Debby still await the winner of the match between fellow Indonesian players Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti and the first-seeded pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.
"If you have been on the field in the match, the superior status is not influential, as the results on the field can be different from the rankings. Our chances are still 50:50, if we meet Zheng/Huang," Debby stated.
However, Debby noted that Indonesia will be benefited if Indonesian pairs Ricky/Debby and Praveen/Melati face one another in the second round.
Apart from Rick/Debby, another Indonesian mixed pair Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja also managed to advance to the second phase of the Danish Open 2018 title after defeating the French pair Ronan Labar and Audery Fontaine 21-11, 21-11 in 24 minutes of the play.
Reporting by Imam Santoso
Editing by Bustanuddin, Suharto
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
