Alan only RI survivor in Asian championship
Alan only RI survivor in Asian championship
JAKARTA (JP): Olympic champion Alan Budikusuma reached the
Asian badminton championships quarterfinals yesterday to become
the only Indonesian singles player left in the annual event.
Men's singles top seed Alan took his match against P. Gopichan
of India easily with a 15-12, 15-6 fourth-round victory. But
Alan, who brought his nagging foot injury with him to the
tournament, held in Beijing, now faces a real test in the form of
Park Sung-woo of South Korea in the last eight round today.
Attack-minded Park silenced the home crowd with a healthy 15-
5, 15-7 win over China's Hu Zhilan. The lanky Park has an up and
down record, but he sprung a surprise in the Thomas Cup here last
year by beating home favorite Hariyanto Arbi.
"Alan needs to work extra hard to win the title. His chance is
fifty percent since he is not in top form," national coach Indra
Gunawan said. If he beats Park, Alan looks set for a semifinal
clash against China's defending champion, Dong Jiong.
Dong overpowered Penninh Kantharoopan of Malaysia 15-7, 15-4
in yesterday's fourth round match. Earlier, the aggressive
Chinese player whipped Indonesian second stringer Arief 15-3, 15-
7 in the third round.
Third seed Marleve Mainaky joined the Indonesian whitewashing
yesterday, slumping to an upset 9-15, 12-15 to South Korean 12th
seed Ahn Jae-chang. Indra had predicted earlier that Marleve
would have no serious problems in taming the resilient Korean.
Indonesia's trouncing was perfectly completed in the women's
singles when both Cindana and Lidya Djaelawijaya were ousted.
Fifth seed Lydia failed to live up to her coach's
expectations, producing too many unnecessary mistakes on her way
to an easy 1-11, 5-11 loss to China's rising star Wang Chen.
Unseeded Cindana displayed a contrasting style when she forced
South Korean fourth seed Lee Joo-hyun to play a nail biting
match. Cindana bounced back from a first set down to force an
extra set, but a mature Lee managed to wrap up a 11-7, 11-12, 11-
5 win.
In today's quarterfinals, Lee will meet China's Yao Yan, who
defeated Thailand's Somharuthai Jaroensiri 11-3, 11-12, 11-8.
Top seed Bang Soo-hyun of South Korea also secured a
quarterfinal berth after her 11-5, 11-8 win over Zheng Yaoqing of
China. Bang faces another Chinese obstacle in Zhang Ning, who
demolished sixth seed Takako Ida of Japan 11-2, 11-3. (amd)