Indonesia nets badminton team titles at Games<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Indonesia beat old nemesis Malaysia
\n3-0 in the Southeast Asian Games men's badminton team final on
\nTuesday in a tie which closely resembled their long-standing
\nThomas Cup rivalry.<\/p>\n
The gold completed Indonesia's double of team titles after the
\nnational women's squad trounced Thailand by the same score
\nearlier in the day to keep intact its two-decade-long supremacy.<\/p>\n
Ronny Agustinus, making his debut, clinched the gold medal for
\nthe Indonesian men after a nail-biting 15-8, 5-15, 15-10 win over
\nMalaysian veteran Rashid Sidek.<\/p>\n
Taufik Hidayat put the team 1-0 ahead after a surprisingly
\nlop-sided 15-5, 15-2 defeat of Commonwealth Games champion Wong
\nChoon Han. The pairing of Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian opened up
\nthe lead to 2-0 with a hard-earned 15-3, 9-15, 15-12 win over the
\nduo of Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook.<\/p>\n
\"When I won the first set, I thought it might be because the
\nwind was on my side of the stadium, so I prepared myself for a
\ntougher match in the second game. But Wong played recklessly and
\nI was also surprised that I could win that game easily,\" said
\nTaufik, who celebrated his 18th birthday on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"I think Wong is a bit moody. When he is in a bad mood, he
\nplays very poorly, worse than his usual form,\" the All England
\nfinalist said.<\/p>\n
The match of the day was the doubles, which saw Flandy and Eng
\nHian play erratically to drop a game but then come back strongly
\nto unleash a flurry of attacks for the win.<\/p>\n
\"In the second game, Lee and Choong changed their tactics by
\ndrilling cross-court drop shots. We were left in doubt because of
\nthe wind inside the stadium which affected the direction of
\nshuttlecock,\" Eng Hian said of the second-game loss.<\/p>\n
The meaningless final two matches in the best-of-five contest
\nwere scrapped.<\/p>\n
The team received their gold medals from former Badminton
\nAssociation of Indonesia (PBSI) chairman Try Sutrisno, who is
\nalso a former Indonesian vice president, amid noisy cheers from
\nnearly 300 supporters who packed the Hassanal Bolkiah indoor
\nstadium.<\/p>\n
Women's event<\/p>\n
Except for the deciding doubles match, the Indonesian women
\nexperienced little trouble in overcoming the Thai opposition.<\/p>\n
The pairing of Cynthia Tuwankotta and Etty Tantri were forced
\nto play an extra game before clinching Indonesia's gold medal
\nwith a 15-9, 6-15, 15-2 win over Sujitra Eakmongkolpaisarn and
\nSaralee Toongthongkam.<\/p>\n
Etty blamed the second-game loss to inconsistent play.<\/p>\n
\"We should have not made so many unforced errors in the second
\ngame. Our opponents pushed us to raise the pace and that led us
\nto lose control of the shuttlecock,\" Etty said.<\/p>\n
\"We shouldn't have played a deciding game, but at least it let
\nus know their strengths and weaknesses.\"<\/p>\n
The Indonesian pair forced the rallies and dictated the match
\nas the Thais ran out of steam in the deciding game.<\/p>\n
The two remaining matches were not played.<\/p>\n
First singles Cindana Hartono played patiently to tame Sujitra
\nEakmongkolpaisarn 11-6, 11-1. She was not forced to use all her
\ntechnical expertise in the easy win.<\/p>\n
The players are tied 2-2 in head-to-head meetings.<\/p>\n
\"Sujitra played really well today and I think it was not easy
\nto beat her,\" Cindana said.<\/p>\n
Second singles Lidya Djaelawidjaja trounced Satinee
\nJankrajangwong 11-0, 11-2.<\/p>\n
Deputy team manager Retno Kustiyah praised Lidya's nearly
\nflawless performance.<\/p>\n
\"Lidya has gained self-confidence. She was aggressive at the
\nnet. She made few unforced errors and her drops and cross-court
\nplacements gave her victory,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Satinee is actually a good player, but she still needs time
\nto reach a world-class standard.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-nets-badminton-team-titles-at-games-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}