Taufik to face Sun Jun in KL's second round<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian teenage idol Taufik Hidayat will face
\na tough challenge on the opening day of the five-star Proton-Eon
\nMalaysian Open as he might face former world champion Sun Jun of
\nChina in the second round Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Currently world number three, Taufik -- who just retained his
\ntitle in the US$150,000 Indonesian Open last month -- is likely
\nto be able to overcome Anuphap Thiraratsakul of Thailand in the
\nfirst round.<\/p>\n
But in the second round later in the evening he will face Sun,
\nwhose performance has been in decline since he injured his back
\nin the Asian Badminton Championships in Vietnam last year.<\/p>\n
Worldbadminton.net reported that world-ranked 48 Sun was in
\nthe list submitted to the International Badminton Federation
\n(IBF) on July 28 instead of Luo Yigang, whose ranking is 9.<\/p>\n
Chinese coach Tong Sinfu said, as quoted by the website, that
\nthe Malaysian Open would be the last opportunity for the players
\nto impress the selectors.<\/p>\n
Should Taufik manage to reach the final, he might be able to
\nrevenge himself on Xia Xuanze of China, who defeated him in the
\nAll England final in May.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is also hoping to win another title in the men's
\ndoubles from world number ten pairing Flandy Limpele and Eng
\nHian. They are scheduled to challenge top seeds Kim Dong-moon and
\nHa Tae-kwon of South Korea in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Compatriots Sigit Budiarto and Halim Heryanto are also
\nexpected to reach the quarters to face another Korean duo of Lee
\nDong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung.<\/p>\n
The withdrawal of Simon Archer and Nathan Robertson, and also
\nChris Hunt and Julian Robertson, both of which pairs are from
\nEngland, leaves the way open for the Indonesians to advance
\nfurther.<\/p>\n
In the women's singles, Lidya Djaelawidjaja will have a tough
\nopener as she will face the 1998 Asian Games gold medalist Kanako
\nYonekura.<\/p>\n
While in the women's doubles, world number eight pairing Etty
\nTantri and Cynthia Tuwankotta are expected to reach the
\nquarterfinals where they are likely to face Joanne Goode and
\nDonna Kellogg of England. The Indonesians lost to the English
\npair in the Indonesian Open. (yan)<\/p>",
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