All Indonesian semifinal in men's doubles unlikely<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
COPENHAGEN (JP): Indonesia has a slight chance to create an
\nall-Indonesian semifinal in the men's doubles at the World
\nChampionships in Brondby Hall this week.<\/p>\n
Deputy team manager, Christian Hadinata, said it would be very
\ndifficult to make an all-Indonesian semifinal as other countries'
\nmen's doubles also showed good performances during the Sudirman
\nCup here last week.<\/p>\n
"Many world class men's doubles have good performances and
\nnone of them are more powerful than others," he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will likely retain the title as it fields world
\nnumber one Antonius and Denny Kantono, number two Flandy and Eng
\nHian, number three Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan and number four
\nRicky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky, the 1996 Olympic champions.<\/p>\n
Candra, who won the title in 1997 with Sigit Budiarto, is one
\nof the favorites. He is ready to defend the title with new
\npartner Tony. They both won in the All England.<\/p>\n
Sigit was suspended from tournaments for about one year after
\nhe was found guilty of using anabolic steroid nandrolone in the
\nSingapore Open.<\/p>\n
However, Candra and Tony will have to face Peter Axelsson and
\nPar-Gunnar Jonsson of Sweden in the third round. If the
\nIndonesians win, they will face tough challenges from South
\nKoreans Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon or Malaysians Chew Choon
\nEng and Lee Wan Wah.<\/p>\n
Candra and Tony will likely use the opportunity to take
\nrevenge after the Koreans beat them in the Japan Open semifinals.<\/p>\n
Korean coach, Kim Moon-soo, said: "Candra and Tony are very
\nstrong. They are the favorites in the championships. It's too bad
\nthey meet in the quarters. The match should be the final."<\/p>\n
Indonesia's men's doubles coach, Herry Imam Pierngadi, said:
\n"Candra and Tony will have to work really hard to win the
\nsemifinals berth as they have very tough matches in early
\nrounds."<\/p>\n
Candra said: "Although we lost to Kim and Ha in the Japan
\nOpen, now we are ready to take revenge. They played better than
\nus then."<\/p>\n
If Candra and Tony reach the semifinals, they will likely face
\nFlandy and Eng Hian.<\/p>\n
Flandy and Didi, Eng Hian's nickname, will likely meet Chinese
\npairs of Zhang Jun and Zhang Wei, seeded 11, in the
\nquarterfinals. But the Chinese will have to eliminate home
\nfavorite Michael Sogaard and Jim Laugesen in the third round.<\/p>\n
Herry said: "Based on the drawing, Flandy (Limpele) and Eng
\nHian have the biggest chance to reach the semifinals."<\/p>\n
Unseeded<\/p>\n
Christian warned Antonius and Denny to be aware of new Chinese
\npairs Yu Jinhao and Chen Qiqiu in the first match on Wednesday at
\n9.00 a.m. local time (2.00 p.m. West Indonesia Time).<\/p>\n
"Although the Chinese were unseeded in the championships, we
\nknow how good their technical skills are. We know that Antonius
\nand Denny are slow starters so they must not loosen up in the
\nbeginning of the match."<\/p>\n
If the Indonesians manage to overcome the Chinese, they will
\nlikely meet Malaysian newcomers Chan Chong Ming and Jeremy Gan in
\nthe third round. In the quarterfinals, Dane duos Jens Eriksen and
\nJesper Larsen will wait for the Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Old hands Ricky and Rexy will likely manage to reach the
\nquarterfinals because they will not have tough challengers in
\nearly rounds. They will meet either winners Malaysians Cheah Soon
\nKit and Choong Tan Fook or Koreans Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-
\nsung.<\/p>\n
Ages<\/p>\n
Herry said he would not expect too much from Ricky and Rexy
\ndue to their ages. Ricky is 28 while Rexy is 31.<\/p>\n
Kim said he believed Lee and Yoo could overcome the Malaysians
\ndue to their communication problem recently.<\/p>\n
"Lee and Yoo will be able to beat the Malaysians. If Cheah
\nand Choong don't talk to each other, it will be very bad. It can
\nbring problems. Both players must have discussion on their
\nperformance."<\/p>\n
Cheah and Choong hadn't talk during the preparation for the
\nSudirman Cup and World Championships. Choong reunited with Lee
\nWan Wah in the Sudirman Cup matches.<\/p>\n
Lee and Yoo will likely be able to beat Ricky and Rexy in the
\nquarterfinals.<\/p>\n
"Ricky and Rexy are old now. Although Lee and Yoo failed to
\nshow their best form in the Sudirman but I believe they'll play
\nbetter," Kim said, adding that Yoo was injured on his left
\nshoulder.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/all-indonesian-semifinal-in-mens-doubles-unlikely-1447893297",
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