Taufik, Candra\/Sigit take S'pore titles<\/p>\n
Agencies, Singapore<\/p>\n
Taufik Hidayat put on a sparkling display of attacking
\nbadminton to capture his second Singapore Open title with a 15-9
\n15-3 drubbing of China's Chen Hong on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Bandung native Taufik and compatriots Sigit Budiarto and
\nCandra Wijaya were the only holdouts in the Chinese domination of
\nthe five events in the tournament.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian fourth seeded men's doubles pair came back
\nafter losing the first game to defeat Danes Mathias Boe and
\nCarsten Mogensen 8-15, 15-8, 15-7.<\/p>\n
The day belonged to a resurgent eighth seeded Taufik, who is
\nshowing the superb form that brought him the 2004 Athens Olympic
\ngold.<\/p>\n
He followed his stirring semifinal victory over world number
\none Lin Dan on Saturday by bullying Chen into submission in 48
\nminutes.<\/p>\n
Rewarded for adopting the more aggressive approach, the 23-
\nyear-old Indonesian surged into an 8-1 lead.<\/p>\n
Roared on by a crowd of more than 8,000, Taufik reeled off 14
\nstraight points from 1-3 in the second game to add to the title
\nhe won in 2001 as two-time Singapore Open winner Chen was unable
\nto cope with the Indonesian, either at the net or from the back
\nof the court.<\/p>\n
\"We have met many times before and he has only beaten me once,
\nI was confident I could beat him,\" said Taufik, who now holds a
\n7-1 win-loss record over the Chinese, including three Indonesian
\nOpen final victories.<\/p>\n
\"I still feel I can improve for the world championships, that
\nis my target.\"<\/p>\n
In Singapore, Taufik showed he will be a major threat for the
\nWorld Championships in Anaheim, California, in mid-August.<\/p>\n
After missing the All England championship in March with a
\nknee injury, he defeated All England winner Chen and his runner-
\nup Lin, as well as world number three Peter Gade in the last
\neight, without losing a game.<\/p>\n
\"The real final was yesterday,\" Taufik said in referring to
\nhis 15-12, 15-8 win over Lin. \"I am really thankful for the
\nsupport from the crowd. My parents also flew in especially for
\nthis final. That made the title more satisfying.\"<\/p>\n
Taufik said he was now aiming for back-to-back wins with
\nvictory at next week's Malaysian Open to raise his world ranking
\nto as high as number four ahead of the world championships.<\/p>\n
In the women's singles, defending champion and world number
\ntwo Zhang Ning battled past Chinese compatriot Zhou Mi 11-5 11-7
\nto secure her fourth title in five years.<\/p>\n
In mixed doubles, Olympic gold medalists and second seeds
\nZhang Jun and Gao Ling rallied from a game behind to overcome
\nThai pair Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thungthongkam 10-15 15-7
\n15-5.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/taufik-candrasigit-take-spore-titles-1447893297",
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