Taufik, Sony get first-round byes in China<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's singles hopefuls Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat
\nand Sony Dwi Kuncoro will receive a bye in the first round of the
\nUS$250,000 China Open badminton tournament in Guangzhou on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
From the draw, which was released on www.worldbadminton.net,
\non Tuesday, Sony is likely to face his tough test in the third
\nround against Malaysia's top shuttler Wong Choong Hann.<\/p>\n
Sony, who is seeded fourth in the tournament, looks to build
\non his Olympic performance which earned him a bronze.<\/p>\n
\"I want to prove to myself that I can do it. I want to win
\nthis event,\" Sony told The Jakarta Post on Saturday prior to the
\nteam's departure to China.<\/p>\n
Sony and Wong have evened their meeting record at 3-3 but Sony
\nhas won their last two matches in the 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA)
\nGames and Thomas Cup.<\/p>\n
Eighth seed Taufik Hidayat is expected to face little trouble
\nuntil the quarterfinals where he is tipped to clash with his
\nrival Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark.<\/p>\n
In the men's doubles, Indonesia's aces and world's number one
\npair Alven Yulianto and Luluk Hadiyanto are skipping the
\ntournament in order to focus more on the five-star Singapore Open
\nthe following week.<\/p>\n
They leave the task to re-united pair Candra Wijaya and Sigit
\nBudiarto, and young pair Markis Kidho and Hendra Setiawan.<\/p>\n
Candra and Sigit, who had partnered in the past before
\nbreaking up, play against Hong Kong's Chan Yan Kit and Wong Wai
\nHong in the first round, while Markis and Hendra Setiawan will
\ntackle English pair Simon Archer and Anthony Clark.<\/p>\n
Men's doubles coach Christian Hadinata said that he is not
\nsetting any target for the two pairs, particularly for Candra and
\nSigit who will make their first partnership in the tournament
\nafter splitting for sometime.<\/p>\n
The team is also keen to see it as a test in the mixed doubles
\nwith Nova Widianto pairing with Lilyana Natsir and Anggun Nugroho
\nwith Yunita Tetty for the first time in official matches.<\/p>\n
Nova teams with Lilyana, as his regular partner Vita Marissa
\nis nursing a shoulder injury, while Anggun has lost Eny Erlangga
\nwho resigned from the training center three months ago.<\/p>\n
In their debut, Nova and Lilyana will take on world number one
\nNathan Robertson and Gail Emms, while Anggun and Yunita are up
\nagainst another English pair, seventh seeds Robert Blair and
\nNatalie Munt.<\/p>\n
Mixed doubles coach Richard Mainaky said that he was
\noptimistic about Nova and Lilyana's chances to reach the
\nsemifinals.<\/p>\n
\"Lilyana is a very good player and she's got the same playing
\ncharacteristics as Vita. I'm sure she can replace Vita to pose an
\nedge in this event,\" Richard said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/taufik-sony-get-first-round-byes-in-china-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}