Favorites shuttlers flop in badminton championships

JAKARTA (JP): The Bumiputera Badminton Championships at Senayan Badminton Hall on Monday was marked by a fall of favorites.

Cindana, who beat world number four Lim Xiaoqing of Sweden in Taipei Open last January, fell flat to her little-known compatriot Olivia 11-9, 11-4 in the women's over-18 singles final.

Denmark, set to win some medals in the doubles events as its coach said at the beginning of the championships, ended up empty handed when its last and strongest hopefuls, the mixed pair of Ove Jvejstrup and Brita Andersen, lost to Endra and Vita Marisa 11-15, 9-15 in the 15-18 age group final.

Japan's Naoko Miyake became the only foreigner to grab a title, thanks to her straight sets 12-10, 11-2 win over local shuttler Hani Setiani after 30 minutes of play in the girls' singles final.

Hani, finalist in the under-18 age group of the national badminton championships in Surabaya last year, blamed her loss on her failure to recover from her draining semifinal on Saturday.

The boys' singles title went to Rony Agustinus, who beat Yudi Suprayogi 15-12, 15-4. In the girls' doubles, Anita and Yunita triumphed by beating Vita Marisa and Eni Widyowati 15-12, 8-15, 18-13. The boys' pair of Endra M and Hadi Saputro also labored for a 15-12, 18-15 victory over Denny and Gatot Danang in the final.

Cindana's coach Retno Kustiyah attributed her player's flop to exhaustion. In the semifinals, Cindana played three sets against compatriot Ellen Angelina. "Besides, Cindana is suffering from a leg injury," Kustiyah said.

In other over-18 age group action, Irwansyah won the men's singles title after beating George Rimarchdi, a member of the national training camp in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, 15-10, 15-10.

Irwansyah said after his win that he hoped to join the national camp. The 22-year-old has on various occasions also beaten other players from the national camp such as Salim, Indra Widjaja, Heri Gunawan and Agus Heriyanto. (arf)