Taufik grinds down Gade in another thriller<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nSingapore<\/p>\n
Taufik Hidayat overcame Denmark's Peter Gade 15-13, 17-15 in a
\nthrilling quarterfinal at badminton's Singapore Open 2005 on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
It took the Indonesian ace 95 minutes to subdue the determined
\nDane despite holding matchpoint twice in the second game at 14-
\n13, official website www.singaporebadmintonopen.com reported.<\/p>\n
The eighth seed dropped two points before finding a final
\nburst of adrenaline to win 17-15 over his third seeded opponent.<\/p>\n
\"It was a very tough match, two games lasting over one and a
\nhalf hours. But I loved it,\" said Taufik, adding that it was good
\nto keep his winning momentum against Gade going.<\/p>\n
\"I've now won the last three encounters so it's a good feeling
\nsince I used to lose to him all the time.\"<\/p>\n
Taufik and Gade had met 11 times prior to the quarterfinal,
\nwith the Dane having won seven of those encounters.<\/p>\n
However, Taufik has got Gade's measure in recent times,
\nbeating him in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open earlier this
\nyear and in the Sudirman Cup mixed team championship in Beijing
\nin May.<\/p>\n
He also triumphed in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Olympic
\nGames.<\/p>\n
When he was down 3-9 in the second game, Taufik admitted he
\nfelt the momentum slipping away but steeled himself to win.<\/p>\n
\"I told myself I cannot lose and just focused on getting point
\nafter point.\"<\/p>\n
Gade said that was the turning point in the mach.<\/p>\n
\"When I was leading 9-3 in the second game, the wind changed a
\nbit and he was returning all the shots. I had to be careful with
\nmy baseline shots and that let him back into the game,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gade conceded that he was not the player he was three years
\nago when he would not have let Taufik back into the game<\/p>\n
\"I was playing against a player who is full of confidence,
\nthree years ago he may not have taken all his chances but today
\nhe did.\"<\/p>\n
Taufik next faces China's Lin Dan, the men's No. 1-ranked
\nplayer, who advanced with a 15-6, 15-3 over Hong Kong's Ng Wei.<\/p>\n
Danish defending champion Kenneth Jonassen was upset by All
\nEngland champion Chen Hong of China 5-6, 15-9. He will meet
\nunseeded Lee Hyun Il in Saturday's semifinals.<\/p>\n
In the women's singles, top ranked Xie Xingfang was upset by
\nher Chinese compatriot Zhou Mi.<\/p>\n
Eighth seeded Zhou scored a tidy 11-8, 11-7 win over Xie, who
\nwon the All England earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The Chinese also dominated other women's matches played Friday
\nas third-seeded Zhang Ning beat Hong Kong's Wang Chen 11-8, 11-2,
\nand unseeded Jiang Yanjiao overcame Bulgarian Petya Nedeltcheva
\n11-2, 11-3.<\/p>",
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