Susi reclaims title as Indonesia rules the roost<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Susi Susanti restored her
\nbeleaguered pride with her fifth Indonesian Open title in the
\nday, which saw home badminton players producing a clean sweep
\nhere yesterday.<\/p>\n
Defending champion Susi defied a 0-6 second-set deficit in her
\nseesaw match against China's future star Wang Chen to post an 11-
\n8, 11-8 win and earn the winner's US$8,750 cash prize.<\/p>\n
The tremendous feat, in the absence of a pack of big names,
\ngave a happy ending to the tournament, which was troubled by
\nunprepared facilities.<\/p>\n
The women's pair of Eliza and Zelin Resiana assured Indonesia
\nof the clean sweep later on in the day when they outplayed
\nDenmark's top seeds Rikke Olssen and Helena Kirkegaard 15-7, 15-
\n4.<\/p>\n
Joko Suprianto won one of the three all-Indonesian finals
\nyesterday, beating his junior Budi Santoso 15-8, 15-4 for the
\nmen's singles crown. It was Joko's first home title after four
\nprevious attempts.<\/p>\n
Defending mixed doubles champions Trikus Heryanto and Minarti
\nTimur opened the show at the IKIP Sports Hall with a 15-8, 15-1
\ndrubbing of compatriots Flandy Limpele and Riseu Rosalina.<\/p>\n
The other all-Indonesian affair was in the men's doubles, in
\nwhich Olympic bronze medalist Antonius Irianto and Denny Kantono
\npounded little-known Halim Heryanto and Davis Efraim to a 15-3,
\n15-10 win.<\/p>\n
Susi quickly waltzed to a 6-2 lead in the first set, but
\nslowed her pace to allow Wang, the semifinal conqueror of second-
\nseeded Mia Audina, to pull level at 7-7.<\/p>\n
Wang, who reached her second straight final after the
\nMalaysian Open last week, upped the gear in the second set to
\nleave the Indonesian Olympic bronze medalist on the receiving
\nend.<\/p>\n
Amid thunderous cheers from the crowd of 3,500 who filled the
\nhall almost to capacity, an experienced Susi kept cool while 20-
\nyear-old Wang started to falter. Susi drew level at 8-8 and never
\nlet Wang take a breath to clinch the match.<\/p>\n
\"I was very doubtful in the second set because I had to fight
\nagainst the wind,\" Susi explained her dreadful play in the second
\nmatch. \"Besides, Wang was very good in net crossing and she is
\ngetting more stable now.\"<\/p>\n
Susi extended her winning streak over Wang to four against
\nnil.<\/p>\n
A lot of rallies<\/p>\n
Indonesian coach Liang Chusia said that Wang forced Susi to
\nplay a lot of rallies because Susi is very good in defense.
\n\"Susi's key to victory was her right timing to unleash her
\nsmashes,\" said Liang, the architect behind Indonesia's Uber Cup
\ndouble success.<\/p>\n
Joko had an easy time to overcome Budi in their battle of the
\nages. The odds favored the experienced, despite Budi's never-say-
\ndie efforts.<\/p>\n
\"I had a feeling that I would win after beating Alan
\n(Budikusuma) in the semifinals,\" Joko said after the victory,
\nwhich earned him $11,375. Joko defeated former Olympic gold
\nmedalist Alan Budikusuma in three sets in Friday's semifinals.<\/p>\n
Joko lost to fellow Indonesian Ardy Wiranata in last year's
\nfinal, to add to his failures in 1989, 1991 and 1994.<\/p>\n
The $175,000 Sony Badminton Indonesia Open was the first six-
\nstar tournament for Budi, who won the Polish Open last year. The
\n20-year-old player, who said he was not nervous playing his
\nsenior, had to settle for the runner-up's $7,000 in cash.<\/p>\n
Budi clinched an all-Indonesian final in the men's singles
\nwith a hard-earned 10-15, 15-10, 15-13 semifinal win over
\nDenmark's Peter Gade Christensen.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Open will raise its prize money to $250,000,
\nstarting next year to meet the new ruling announced by the
\nInternational Badminton Federation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susi-reclaims-title-as-indonesia-rules-the-roost-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}