RI shuttlers maintain hopes in Asian Games<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Busan, South Korea<\/p>\n
Indonesia's badminton players maintained a firm determination to
\ndo better than in their male counterparts had done in the team
\nevent on Saturday, with an exception of the men's doubles event.<\/p>\n
The dream of having an all-Indonesian final in the badminton
\nmen's doubles event was thwarted when only one of the two
\nIndonesian pairs got through to the semifinals at the Gangseo
\nGymnasium in the Gangseo Sports Park.<\/p>\n
Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto were unexpectedly defeated
\n15-8, 14-17, 5-15 by Malaysians Chan Choong Ming and Chew Choon
\nEng in their quarterfinals encounter.<\/p>\n
But, an unexpected victory was enjoyed by another Indonesian
\npair, Halim Heryanto and Tri Kusharyanto, who might consider it
\nto be sweet revenge against South Korean pair Kim Dong-moon and
\nHa Tae-kwon, who defeated them in the team event.<\/p>\n
The Indonesians won the first game 15-7 in an up-tempo
\nencounter but slowed down in the second game and lost 8-15. They
\nreturned to their rapid-fire style in the third game and won 15-
\n8.<\/p>\n
In the semifinals, Halim and Tri will face Pramote
\nTeerawiwatana and Tesana Panvisvas of Thailand.<\/p>\n
In the other semifinals, Malaysians Chan and Chew will face
\nfirst seeds Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung.<\/p>\n
A similar surprising defeat was suffered by mixed doubles pair
\nNova Widhianto and Vita Marissa, seeded second here, who lost 11-
\n5, 5-11, 5-11 to the Thai pair of Sudhisodhi Khunakorn and
\nThoungthongkam Saralee.<\/p>\n
Also cruising through to the semifinals were Indonesian men's
\nsingles shuttlers. The semifinals matches will be a private
\naffair between Taufik Hidayat and Hendrawan against hosts Shon
\nSeung-mo and Lee Hyun-il respectively.<\/p>\n
Taufik will personally be delighted if he can defeat Shon.<\/p>\n
\"I met him twice and always won. I'm not counting our match in
\nthe men's team final. Shon got a lot of help from the umpire and
\nlocal linesmen,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Taufik also said he would pull out of the match right away if
\nsimilar irregularities happened again.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Hashim Muhammad Hafiz was not a real challenge for
\nTaufik as he enjoyed a quite easy 15-11, 15-5 victory.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Shon outshone Indian star Pullela Gopichand 15-9,
\n15-11.<\/p>\n
Hendrawan, on the other hand, had to fight hard before winning
\n12-15, 15-10, 15-4 against China's Xia Xuanze.<\/p>\n
Lee Hyun-il also had to lose the first game before winning 12-
\n15, 15-9, 15-6 against Malaysian Wong Choong Han.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Indonesia's hopes of reaping a second gold medal
\nfrom tennis were dashed when Angelique Widjaja and Wynne Adiati
\nPrakusya went down 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 3-5 to host pair Kim Mi-ok and
\nChoi Young-ja.<\/p>\n
\"We should have won the gold medal as Angie and Wynne are the
\nfirst seeds here,\" team manager Suharyadi told reporters after
\nthe match.<\/p>\n
\"But playing before the home crowd was a burden in itself. The
\ntension was palpable, and it was all very different,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Angie could not hide her disappointment.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, I'm disappointed with the defeat. I was confident
\nthat I could win the match,\" Angie told reporters.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-shuttlers-maintain-hopes-in-asian-games-1447893297",
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