Badminton champion faces difficult draw
JAKARTA (JP): Defending champion Alan Budikusuma received a challenging draw for the Olympic Games badminton competition in Atlanta next week, with a possible quarterfinal match against second seed Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark.
If the Indonesian joint fifth seed clears his Danish hurdle, he is likely to play compatriot and world champion Hariyanto Arbi, who is seeded third together with Dong Jiong of China.
Hoyer-Larsen, 31, shrugged off his age barrier to notch a remarkable run this year, clinching his second straight All- England title in March and beating most of the world's best players in the Thomas Cup men's team championship in Hong Kong in May.
The draw, issued by the International Badminton Federation (IBF) on Thursday, gave the top eight seeded players first-round byes. The IBF conducted the draw according to the world rankings as of April this year.
The Indonesians should sigh with relief since the draw denied an early meeting among themselves. An Indonesian official, Rudy Hartono, had earlier predicted that his team's chances of winning medals could be tarnished by an early all-Indonesia clash.
Alan won the men's singles crown at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics for Indonesia after a hard-fought battle against compatriot Ardy Wiranata. The silver medalist failed to qualify for this year's Olympics because of the quota of three players imposed by the IBF on each country.
Indonesian top seed Joko Suprianto should have a more comfortable path toward his first Olympic title. He opens his campaign in a second-round match against unheralded Finn Pontus Jantii.
The world number one will probably only have to start working hard in the quarterfinal, where he is tipped to meet Commonwealth champion Rashid Sidek of Malaysia. Should Joko survive the test, he will probably renew his rivalry with Chinese rising star Dong Jiong, the man who upset him in the Thomas Cup men's team championship in Hong Kong in May.
Hariyanto should also enjoy an easy ride in the early rounds. But he will probably have to stretch all his muscles in a possible quarterfinal match with South Korea's Lee Kwan-jin, to whom he lost in the Korean Open early this year.
Susi
Women's singles title holder, but this year's second seed, Susi Susanti should move smoothly into the quarterfinals, only to set up a potential tooth and nail match against joint fifth seed Han Jingna of China.
Susi, who led the Indonesian team to its second successive Uber Cup triumph last May, will play her third match of the year against her old nemesis Bang Soo-hyun of South Korea.
The 26-year-old Indonesian was last beaten by the Korean in the All-England semifinals, but gained sweet revenge in the Uber Cup semifinals.
Another Indonesian hopeful, Mia Audina, is drawn to meet Danish star and joint third seed Camila Martin in the quarterfinals. If 17-year-old Mia manages to overcome the opponent who beat her in the German Open final in March, she could pose a real threat to Chinese top seed Ye Zhaoying's bid for the crown in the semifinals.
In the men's doubles, world champions Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky are looking ahead to a semifinal clash against fellow Indonesians, Gunawan and Bambang Supriyanto.
If the draw goes as expected, the other semifinal should pit the other Indonesian pair of Denny Kantono and Antonius Irianto against Malaysian top seeds Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock.
The badminton competition runs from July 24 through Aug. 1, featuring 192 shuttlers who are vying for five gold medals. It will be the sport's second appearance in the Olympics. (amd)