Candra and Tony clinch first title this year in Taipei
Candra and Tony clinch first title this year in Taipei
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's best men's doubles Candra Wijaya and
Tony Gunawan earned their first title this year in the US$150,000
Chinese Taipei Open after defeating the 1996 Olympics silver
medalists Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock 15-7, 15-7 in Sunday's
final at the Taipei Municipal Sports Center.
Overall, Indonesia won one title, Denmark took home three
while the Netherlands earned one title.
Candra and Tony had little trouble eliminating the Malaysians
as they were faster and stronger. The Indonesians led 8-0 in the
first game, giving a chance to the Malaysians to earn seven
points before the match concluded.
In the second game, they lead 12-2 before starting to feel the
pressure as the Malaysians earned five more points. But their
experience led them to claim the title by winning 15-7.
Coach Herry Imam Pierngadi said in a telephone interview that
both Cheah and Yap failed to perform their best as they were
getting older.
"They didn't have the same power and speed as when they
reached the Olympics finals. Since the start of the final, I was
sure Candra and Tony wouldn't have any difficulty dealing with
the Malaysians," he said.
"The real final was yesterday in the semifinals when Candra
and Tony had to play a rubber set against second seeds Lee Dong-
soo and Yoo Yong-sung of South Korea. I think Lee and Yoo are
much better than the world number one pair of Kim Dong-moon and
Ha Tae-kwon."
Herry expressed disappointment as he had expected an all-
Indonesian final.
"We sent five pairs but only one reached the final. It's
really sad. However, the withdrawal of Kim and Ha influenced the
draw as the best players had to meet each other before the
semifinals."
Men's singles world number one player Peter Gade Christensen
added one more title on his collection by claiming the crown
after defeating young Malaysian star Wong Choon Han 15-9, 15-5.
Gade Christensen won his first title this year in the Korean Open
last week.
In the women's singles, qualifier Mia Audina earned her first
title since winning the 1998 Indonesia Open in Jakarta. Mia, a
former Indonesian favorite who moved to the Netherlands with her
husband last year, defeated Thai Sujitra Eakmongkolpaisarn 13-11,
11-2.
Top seeds Ra Kyung-min and Chung Jae-hee of South Korea won
the finals by defeating second seeds Helene Kirkegaard and Rikke
Olsen of Denmark 15-6, 15-7.
Mixed doubles Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen, second seeded
here, outclassed teammates Jens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager 15-
5, 15-9. (yan)