Ardy struggles in World Cup c'ships opener

JAKARTA (JP): Top seed Ardy Wiranata had to flex muscles on his way past Malaysian Ong Ewe Hock in their opening group match at the US$180,000 World Cup badminton championships yesterday.

But Ardy's struggle for a from-behind 15-18, 15-2, 15-1 win served only as an early nerve-endurance test for some 500 home fans, as all Indonesia's men's singles hardly broke a sweat in the following matches.

Joko Suprianto, a latecomer in place of injured world champion Hariyanto Arbi, made short work of Lee Mie Chow of Chinese Taipei 15-2, 15-4 in a Group A match. In Group D, Olympic gold medalist Alan Budikusuma also had little trouble beating Peter Rasmussen of Denmark 15-8, 15-5.

Ong won the early psycho-war, surprising Ardy with a number of searing smashes to go 5-2 up. A reckless Ong, however, squandered the momentum with his error-prone game that allowed Ardy take the initiative. The Indonesian used only a serve to soar to a 10-6 lead, thanks to Ong's wide returns.

The Malaysian came under constant jeers, following his emotional protest over a bad call ruling. But he silenced the crowd with renewed charges. He exploited his brandished jumping smashes to daze the long-haired Indonesian, who looked lethargic until Ong sealed the first set.

Ardy changed his extra defensive game into a more aggressive one in the second set as Ong adopted an energy-saving strategy. Even Ong ran out of desire to any reply to Ardy's attacking lobs.

The Malaysian produced another surprise in the decider, but this time he played an anti-climax game. As if he were a novice, Ong let Ardy fire his devastating smashes to storm to a commanding 13-0 lead. Ardy conceded a double fault, but went on to outgun his demoralized opponent.

"I failed to develop my favorite game in the first set. I let him set the pace, instead," said Ardy, who has never lost to the Malaysian, after the match.

Ong admitted that he had been confused by Ardy's quick game in the last two sets. "I didn't know what to do," he said.

Women's singles top seed Susi Susanti did not disappoint her home crowd when she waltzed to an easy 11-1, 11-5 win over Yasuko Mizui of Japan in a clearly lop-sided match.

"It is a morale boosting win in my title defense attempt before my own public. I won't belittle anybody, that's why I have done my best from the outset," said Susi, who has won the title three times.

Susi's strongest opponent, Ye Zhaoying of China, had to labor to clear her first hurdle, beating another Mizui, Hisako, 11-7, 11-5 in their Group B match. Third seed Lim Xiaoqing of Sweden also got off to a flying start by trouncing Somharuthai Jeroensiri of Thailand 11-5, 11-2.

Swedish men's pair of Peter Axelsson and Par Gunnar Jonsson produced the only major upset yesterday as they toppled second seeds Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock 9-15, 15-9, 18-14 in a hard-fought battle.

Indonesian top seeds Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky breezed past English pair Chris Hunt and Simon Archer 15-5, 15-6. Another Indonesian pair, Denny Kantono and Antonius swept South Korean Yoo Yong-sun and Kim Dong-moon 15-4, 15-3. (arf/amd)