Last year's women's singles champion Mayla Cahya Afilian Pratiwi began her new steps at the cadet level with a dramatic victory in the first round of the 2025 Kapolri Cup at the Jakarta State University (UNJ) GOR.
The player from the Mutiara Cardinal Bandung club had to work hard before finally defeating PB Kasih's representative, Alya Zafira, with a score of 19-21, 21-12, 21-8.
"My first game was still adapting to the field. My balls were still half-hearted and I became hesitant," Mayla said in a written statement after the match.
Last year, Mayla emerged as the champion of the women's singles after defeating Kayla Arsya Medina with a score of 21-7, 21-14. Now moving up to the cadet age level, the Bandung-born player is ambitious to repeat her success and return to the top podium.
"Hopefully we can give our best and maximum performance in every round. The target is of course to be champions again," said Mayla.
Mayla is scheduled to face another seed, Auberta Zerlina, in the round of 16. Interestingly, both players consider each other as their toughest opponents.
"As for my toughest opponent in this tournament, one of them is Auberta because in several meetings we beat each other," said Mayla.
