Tony heads RI shuttlers in Japan Open semifinals<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian men's doubles and mixed doubles
\nshuttlers continued their advance at the US$180,000 Japan Open,
\nwinning their quarterfinal matches on Friday at Yoyogi Stadium in
\nTokyo.<\/p>\n
In the men's doubles, All England champions Tony Gunawan and
\nHalim Heryanto of Indonesia, seeded fifth here, sent home the
\ntop-seeded Danish duo of Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen 15-11,
\n15-9.<\/p>\n
Their victory set up a duel with the Danish duo of Martin
\nLundgaard Hansen and Lars Paaske, who sweated out a 15-12, 15-13
\nvictory over Liu Yong and Chen Qiqiu of China.<\/p>\n
In another semifinal match, 1997 World Champions Candra Wijaya
\nand Sigit Budiarto of Indonesia will meet Malaysia's rising duo
\nof Chew Choon Eng and Chan Chong Ming.<\/p>\n
Candra and Sigit crushed Ma Che-kong and Yau Kwun-yuen of Hong
\nKong 15-9, 15-11 in the quarters, while Chew and Chan, seeded
\neighth, were hard-pressed to squeeze out a 15-10, 13-15, 15-8 win
\nover Zhang Wei and Zhang Jun of China.<\/p>\n
Indonesian men's doubles coach Herry Imam Pierngadi said by
\nphone from Tokyo he was optimistic his shuttlers would be able to
\nset up an all-Indonesian finals, as was the case at last month's
\nAll England.<\/p>\n
\"I believe my shuttlers will play well. What is important is
\nthat they are consistent from the beginning.<\/p>\n
\"Both pairs played really well today, particularly Tony and
\nHalim, who were forced by their opponents from Hong Kong to work
\nhard on the court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Herry said Candra and Sigit must be wary of Chew and Chan, who
\nhave been in good form over the last two months.<\/p>\n
\"Although they are technically better and more experienced
\n(than the Malaysians), they cannot afford to lose their grip
\nduring the match. It could boomerang on them.\"<\/p>\n
In the mixed doubles, the veteran Indonesian duo of Bambang
\nSuprianto and Minarti Timur upset the second-seeded Danish duo of
\nJens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager 7-15, 15-5, 15-5. The
\nIndonesians will now face the third-seeded Chinese pair of Zhang
\nJun and Gao Ling, who ousted Chien Yu-hsiun and Cheng Wen-hsin of
\nChinese Taipei 15-7, 15-5 in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
The inexperienced Indonesian pair of Nova Widhianto and Vita
\nMarissa survived a tough battle with Zhang Wei and Huang Sui of
\nChina, winning 15-5, 11-15, 15-4. They will next meet another
\nChinese duo, Liu Yong and Cheng Jiao, who defeated Indonesians
\nTri Kusheryanto and Indarti Issoliana 15-10, 15-4.<\/p>\n
Indonesian mixed doubles coach Yanti Kusmiati said by phone
\nthat Indarti was still having trouble adjusting to playing with
\nTri, as a result the Indonesian's were unable to force long
\nrallies against the Chinese.<\/p>\n
\"Tomorrow, Nova and Vita must force long rallies because Cheng
\nis very aggressive and the Chinese have good defense. As for
\nMinarti and Bambang, together they have never met Zhang and Gao,
\nthough Minarti faced them in the 2000 Sydney Olympics final.<\/p>\n
In the men's singles, sixth seeded Chen Hong of China scored
\nthe biggest upset of the day, squashing top seed and defending
\nchampion Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark 15-11, 7-15, 15-7.<\/p>\n
Chen will next face Lee Hyun-il of South Korea, who crushed
\nMalaysian old hand Ong Ewe Hock 15-12, 15-8.<\/p>\n
The second seeded Roslin Hashim of Malaysia reached the
\nsemifinals after ousting Danish seventh-seed Anders Boesen 15-10,
\n15-4. Hashim is scheduled to meet unseeded Shon Seung-mo of South
\nKorea, who had an easy 15-4, 7-1 win over Colin Haughton of
\nEngland, who retired in the second game.<\/p>\n
As usual, the Chinese are dominating the women's side, with
\nthree players in both the singles and doubles semifinals. (yan)<\/p>",
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