Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesias top mens doubles players, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, failed to clinch a slot in the final round of the BCA Indonesia Super Series Premier Badminton Open here on Saturday.

The Indonesian pair was defeated by Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan of China in the semifinal round 20-22, 21-18, 15-21.

The first set was marked by tight competition for points with quick movements and strong smashes dominating the game.

Ahsan/Hendra however had to surrender 20-22 to the Chinese in the set.

Tension remained high in the second set with both teams showing speed and coming up with deadly attacks combined with solid defenses.

The race to gather points became too tight with no side leaving a margin of no more than two before Ahsan/Hendra could finally finish the set in their favor 21-18.

In the third set, the game saw little change as both sides carried on with piling more pressure.

Just before the game was to end, the Indonesians made some mistakes, giving the opponents some advantage.

The third set was won by Fun/Zhang 21-15.

"Our opponents often made mistakes, adding to our point collection," Zhang Nan said.

With the loss, Indonesia would only have Nitya Krishnanda Maheswari/Greysia Polii to play in the final round.

Nitya/Greysia advanced to the finals after defeating their Chinese opponents Yu Yang/Zhong Qianxin 20-22, 21-13, 21-14 earlier that day.

Indonesias mixed doubles duo Tontowi Ahmad (Owi)/Liliyana Natsir (Butet), who along with Ahsan/Hendra were expected to emerge champions, also failed to advance to the finals earlier, having lost to Chinese pair Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei.

Owi/Butet were beaten 21-16, 15-21, 18-21 by Zhang/Zhao in a match that lasted an hour and 11 minutes.

reporting by aditya ramadhani

(H-YH)

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