RI faces tough opening round in Beijing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian shuttlers will face tough challenges
\nin the opening round of the US$150,000 China Open in Beijing on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Third seeded Budi Santoso will meet Ma Yuan Zheng of China. If
\nhe wins, he will play the winner of a match between Mika Joppien
\nof Germany and Zhang Yi of China. If Budi, who is ranked world
\nnumber seven, manages to reach the third round, he is likely to
\nchallenge 12th seeded Xia Xuanze of China.<\/p>\n
Should Budi reach the quarterfinals, he may face either Rashid
\nSidek of Malaysia or 10th seeded Ji Xinpeng of China.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Indra Wijaya will have to take on Chen Ling of
\nChina. If he wins his match, he is likely to challenge 11th
\nseeded Luo Yigang.<\/p>\n
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) training director
\nChristian Hadinata said he did not expect the shuttlers to bring
\nhome any titles.<\/p>\n
"They only have to improve their world rankings, especially
\nBudi, who is number seven now. He is not allowed to lose to
\nplayers below his rank because it would lead him to lose points
\nfor his Olympics qualification," he said.<\/p>\n
World number one Sun Jun of China is the top seeded player in
\nthe tournament, followed by Fung Permadi, an Indonesian playing
\nfor Chinese Taipei.<\/p>\n
In the men's doubles, Antonius and Denny Kantono, ranked
\nnumber seven in the world, will meet the 1999 Southeast Asian
\n(SEA) Games gold medalists Pramote Teerawiwatana and Tesana
\nPansisavas of Thailand in the first round. If they manage to
\novercome the Thais, they will meet either Jeremy Gan and Chan
\nChung Ming of Malaysia or the Chinese duo of Jian Shun and Yan
\nHan.<\/p>\n
If Antonius and Denny can reach the quarterfinals, they are
\nlikely meet fifth seeded Yu Jinhao and Chen Qiqiu.<\/p>\n
In the women's doubles, Elysa and Deyana Lomban will meet Xiao
\nYang and Lei Lei of China in the opener, while Etty Tantri and
\nCynthia Tuwankotta will face Hu Ting and Wei Yan of China. (yan)<\/p>",
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