Shesar Hiren Rhustavito is disappointed with himself after Indonesia crashed out in the semi-finals in the Badminton Asia Tong Yun Kai Cup with a 3-0 defeat to defending champions Japan at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wanchai, Hong Kong China on Saturday.
The 25-year-old was on course to keep Indonesia in the hunt in his men's singles match against Kanta Tsuneyama after winning the first game at 21-15 but lost his focus in the second and the decider and lost 17-21, 16-21.
Indonesia needed to win the match after defeats of Frengky Wijaya Putra-Sabar Karyaman Gutama in the men's doubles and Ruselli Hartawan in the women's singles.
"I am disappointed with myself. I lost focus on my eagerness to win the match. There also other reasons for the defeat. I gave away easy points and even conceded up to four points at a stretch. It took away my confidence."
Indonesia was 1-0 down in the men's doubles with Frengky-Sabar losing 11-21, 18-21 to Takuto Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi. Sayaka Takahashi was too strong for Ruselli Hartawan in the women's singles and walked away with a 21-15, 21-15 win for Japan's second point.
Coach Iransyah took Indonesia's defeat in his stride. At the last edition in Ho Chi Minh City, Indonesia bowed out in the quarter-finals with a 3-2 defeat to eventual champions Japan.
"Shesar is a difficult player to beat on his day. But he must learn to be more focused on his game instead of rushing to win points."
"Still, it was a good performance by the team overall this year. A good experience for the youngsters in terms of exposure and experience playing against strong opponents," said Iransyah.
