Mapasa Finishes Games with Confidence Win

Australian Women’s Doubles Badminton pairing of Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu have defeated India in straight games, 2-0 (21-15 21-10), to finish their Olympic campaign on a high.

Setanya and Angela did well to bounce back from their earlier defeats in the Paris 2024 tournament to Korea and Japan. The big crowds and the occasion made them nervous but they made sure to enjoy the fans and the atmosphere in their final pool match.

The Australians had never played the Indian pair before and were determined to get the win. At one stage in the match, they trailed by two points before fighting back and taking control.

“We really didn’t want to be the last team and we wanted to play our best and enjoy the last game,” Angela said.

The pair have only been playing together since last year and are looking to play more competitions after Paris.

“We are trying to play more times after the Olympics,” she said. “That was definitely a confident boost for us knowing that we can still play on such a big stage.”

Angela’s mum, He Tian ‘Rosie’ Tang, won a bronze medal for China at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Her dad has been coaching in Australia since 1992. Both were in the crowd cheering and providing support. 

“After our loss against the Japanese and the Koreans, I really struggled mentally because the Olympics are such a big stage,” Angela explained. 

“I’ve never been in it before so I couldn’t control my nerves and I went up to my parents in the crowd and they were really supportive. They said, ‘Just play your best. You play so well, you can’t hold back now’.”

Setyana, 28 was asked if the boost from this win was enough to keep them playing together through to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. 

“We want to keep playing together,” Setyana said.

“It’s a long way to go, but I still enjoy the sport and I enjoy playing with Angela, so I don’t know. Let’s see how we go.”

Article courtesy of AOC