Sea Games 2007 : Indonesia Win in Women's Double Badminton Final

Pia Zebadiah Bernadet punched both fists in the air to celebrate her victory in the decisive match against Singapore's Fu Mingtian, awarding Indonesia the women's team gold medal at the SEA Games on Monday.

The 21-year-old shuttler, the youngest on the national badminton squad, deserved the ecstatic moment as she achieved victory against the odds.

Her seniors -- world No. 19 Maria Kristin Yulianti and 2005 SEA Games gold medalist Adriyanti Firdasari -- lost to their Singaporean opponents earlier in the day. Maria lost to world No. 25 Li Li 21-12, 12-23, 21-14, while world No. 31 Firdasari bowed out to world No. 33 Xing Aiying 21-14, 22-24, 21-14.

Indonesia leveled the match 2-2 thanks to women's doubles Lilyana Natsir and Vita Marissa, who crushed Singaporean duo Jiang Yanmei and Liu Fan Frances 21-11, 21-13, and Jo Novita and Greysia Polii, who defeated Li Yujia and Sari Shanti Mulia 21-10, 21-14.

Pia, the world No. 69, became the decider. "My brother told me to play a 'nothing-to-lose' game, and I tried to do that. (Mingtian) had beaten me before but not again in this SEA Games," she said. Pia's oldest brother, Markis Kido, is the men's doubles world champion with Hendra Setiawan. Clinching a convincing 21-15 win in the first game, Pia saw the Singaporean bouncing back to dictate play in the second game and win 21-19. "I wasn't ready to deal with the draft in the stadium. I convinced myself I could win the final game. And I did," she said. Pia earned lots of points from her ability to frustrate Mingtian in close-to-the-net duels, causing the Singaporean to make unforced errors before finally putting the match away 21-10. Coach Hendrawan said every final match was mostly a battle of nerves and confidence. "Confidence plays the most crucial role in the final match. In the finals, all players have equal skills and techniques. This time, Pia showed she had strong confidence that she could win," said the 2001 world champion. The victory was an improvement from the 2005 Philippines Games where the women's team only earned the bronze. Indonesia added a gold medal from the men's team competition after they eliminated Singapore. First singles Taufik Hidayat had to stretch out to a rubber game before taming Yen Hui Kendrick Lee 12-21, 22-20, 21-9. Indonesia widened the gap after Markis and Hendra overcame their opponents Hendri Kurniawan Saputra and Hendra Wijaya 21-16, 18-21, 21-12. Second singles Sony Dwi Kuncoro beat Chew Swee Hau 21-12, 21-7 to conclude the match. Indonesia is vying to win at least four gold medals on the badminton court, with Taufik, Markis and Hendra and mixed doubles Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir, double's world champion, all hoping to excel at the biennial event.