Candra, Halim upbeat on new partnership<\/p>\n
Musthofid
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nBatam<\/p>\n
Candra Wijaya and Halim Heryanto who, as a fledgling doubles
\nteam, made it to the semifinals of the Sanyo Indonesia Open, are
\nseeking to improve their teamwork when they compete in the
\nupcoming Malaysia Open.<\/p>\n
"We have come to the Indonesia Open, simply content with a
\nplace in the semifinals. We are not by any means complacent with
\nmerely semifinal run, mind you. But It should be considered a
\nmodest feat for us given that this is our tournament debut as a
\nteam," Candra said.<\/p>\n
"This should motivate us to do even better," he said.<\/p>\n
Candra had partnered with Sigit Budiarto and they reach the
\nfinal of the World Championships in Birmingham, England, in June.<\/p>\n
They have since parted ways and each now has a new partner.<\/p>\n
Sigit the World Championship silver medalist, who is now
\npartnered with Tri Kusharjanto, crashed out of the tourney in the
\nthird round.<\/p>\n
Candra and Halim looked much more solid in their partnership
\nthis past week.<\/p>\n
Against the Thai duo of Pramote Teerawiwatana\/Tesana
\nPanvisvas, the Indonesian pair got off to a good start, pulling
\nclear to 10-3 before clinching the first set 15-7.<\/p>\n
They stumbled a bit in the second set with Halim particularly
\nbeing blamed for his inaccurate smashes, which resulted in too
\nmany unforced errors and a loss of 15-9.<\/p>\n
The Thai opponents built a formidable lead at 13-5, largely
\nhelped by the Indonesians' continued lapses in concentration.
\nCandra and Halim did not seem to be communication effectively at
\ntimes, which resulted in the shuttlecock falling on their side
\nuntouched.<\/p>\n
After a brief rally by the Indonesian pair, the Thais brought
\nfinished it off on their way to a 15-8 victory for the set and
\nthe match.<\/p>\n
"I thought Candra was going for some of those returns and he
\nthought I had them," Halim said about their miscommunication
\nduring the match.<\/p>\n
"I guess it's normal as we haven't played together so much,"
\nCandra said.<\/p>\n
Candra did praise the Thais as they used excellent tactics.<\/p>\n
"They could read through our game particularly in the last two
\nsets. In the first set I was able to break down their defense but
\nin the remaining games, they managed to get into a nice rhythm.<\/p>\n
"They somehow slowed down the tempo in such a way that it was
\ndifficult for us to break through," Candra said.<\/p>\n
Candra and Halim played one other time as a makeshift pair in
\na tourney in Bangkok in 2001.<\/p>\n
Candra said that they had yet to build the required chemistry
\nbetween them. Reflexes, he said, also needed to be honed further
\nto establish a well-connected routine.<\/p>\n
"Hopefully, we'll have a better result in Malaysia," he said.
\nThe Malaysia Open starts on Sept. 3 in Sabah, Malaysia.<\/p>",
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