Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi breathed a big sigh of relief after finally winning their first HSBC BWF World Tour title together.
The Indonesians, second best at three previous finals – Taipei Open last year and Spain Masters and Thailand Open this year – came good at last at SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2024.
Kusuma admitted they overcame early jitters to see off the scratch Malaysian pairing of Lai Pei Jing/Lim Chiew Sien 12-21 21-7 21-13.
“Pre-match, there was a bit of tension because we’d lost three finals but the desire to win was too strong that we never gave up even when the situation was tricky,” said the 23-year-old.
“We are grateful we got over the line at the fourth time of asking. We are over the moon but we won’t get carried away. We want to keep learning so we get to experience more of this.”
Pratiwi agreed work doesn’t stop here for the world No.18s.
“We struggled in the first game but were able to find our rhythm in the second and we carried the momentum on to the decider. Pleased with our efforts here, but we need to keep working hard.”
Kusuma/Pratiwi’s success is their country’s second this season at the Super 500 level; Daniel Marthin/Leo Rolly Carnando being their other winners (Indonesia Masters). They are also the first Indonesian women’s pair to win the Australian Open after Aprilsasi Putri Lejarsar Variella/Vita Marissa in 2013.