Markis-Hendra pair takes upset win in men's doubles<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The young men's doubles pair of Markis Kidho and Hendra
\nSetiawan caused a big surprise in a battle of national
\nbadminton's present and future at the US$250,000 Indonesia Open
\non Sunday.<\/p>\n
Although local players were already assured the titles in all-
\nIndonesia finals in the men's doubles and mixed doubles, pride
\nwas on the line as veteran teams took on their younger
\ncounterparts at Senayan, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In the mixed doubles final, despite fighting talk from Anggun
\nNugroho on Saturday that they would show who was the best on
\ncourt, newly crowned World champions and top seeds Nova Widianto
\nand Liliyana Natsir put seventh seeds Anggun and Yunita Tetty in
\ntheir place with a 15-13, 15-1 win.<\/p>\n
\"In the first game, Anggun and Yunita did the right thing by
\nhitting slow shots and forcing me to smash,\" Nova, 28, said
\nafter receiving the top prize of $15,250. \"But in the second
\ngame, they went along with our fast pace and lost because of it.\"<\/p>\n
The men's doubles final, pitting top seeds and world number
\none ranked Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya against Markis and
\nHendra, was the match the packed crowd was waiting for. Sigit and
\nCandra, aged 29 and 30 respectively, were coming off their run to
\nthe World Championship final in Anaheim, California.<\/p>\n
Seventh seeded Markis and Hendra, both aged 21, were left off
\nthe team for the worlds and had something to prove by winning at
\nhome. Earlier this month they won the Asian Championships in
\nHyderabad, India.<\/p>\n
The younger pair set the pace from the beginning with fast
\ndrives and sharply angled shots, preventing the veteran pairing
\nfrom attacking. After opening up an 11-2 lead, they began
\ncommitting errors, with hurried shots into the net or wide, and
\nCandra and Sigit fought back to 10-13 before they closed it out.<\/p>\n
Markis and Hendra seemed poised to finish off the match when
\nthey reached 12-9 in the second game, but again nerves seemed to
\nget the better of them.<\/p>\n
Sigit and Candra, the 1997 and 2001 Indonesia Open champions,
\nheld on with steady play to take the game.<\/p>\n
Although they missed their second game opportunity, the
\nyounger pair did not fold when it mattered. They stepped up the
\npace once again, leading 8-0 and never allowing their opponents
\nback into the match to win 15-10, 12-15, 15-3.<\/p>\n
\"This is evidence that we can win although our trip to the
\nWorld Championship was canceled,\" said Markis, who shared $18,000
\nwith his partner.<\/p>\n
The pairs had never met before in tournament play, and Sigit,
\nwho received $10,000 with Candra as runners-up, gave credit to
\nthe winners.<\/p>\n
\"The young duo played very good today. Besides, we are already
\nold.\"<\/p>\n
In a field depleted by the absence of Chinese shuttlers, who
\nchose to stay home for the national championships, and top
\nEuropean teams resting after the worlds, Markis and Hendra will
\nhave to show that the triumph was their breakthrough into the top
\nranks.<\/p>\n
South Korea took home two titles in the men's singles and
\nwomen's doubles.<\/p>\n
Seventh seeded Lee Hyun Il, who defeated Indonesia's Sony Dwi
\nKuncoro in the semifinals, crushed eighth seeded Thai Boonsak
\nPonsana 15-10, 15-3, while the top seeded women's double duo of
\nLee Kyung Won\/Lee Hyo Jung beat Malaysia's Wong Pey Tty\/Chin Eei
\nHui 15-4, 15-5.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong took the women's singles title when third seed Wang
\nChen overcame eighth seed Mia Audina Tjiptawan, who was born in
\nIndonesia but now plays for the Netherlands, 11-7, 11-3.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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