Hariyanto Arbi retains world title for Indonesia
Hariyanto Arbi retains world title for Indonesia
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Agencies): Indonesia claimed two men's titles at the world championships here yesterday to put an end to the weeks of disappointment tearing down its reputation as the world's badminton powerhouse.
World number one Hariyanto Arbi employed his characteristic jumping smashes to lift the world singles badminton title for Indonesia when he beat South Korean Park Sung-woo 15-11, 15-8 in the final.
All-England reigning men's doubles champions Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky cemented their number one tag with a world championship crown as they destroyed Denmark's Thomas Lund and Jon Holst Christensen 15-5, 15-2. It was the second title for Ricky after winning the doubles with Rudy Gunawan two years ago.
In the women's doubles, Indonesia's Lili Tampi and Finarsih fell in their second successive final appearance, losing to South Korean Gil Young-ah and Jang Hye-ock in three sets 15-3, 11-15, 10-15.
A flurry of blows recently hit Indonesia when it failed to regain the Sudirman Cup mixed team title last week and with the shocking defeats of badminton queen Susi Susanti. Susi capped her vulnerable run here when she crashed to Chinese eventual champion Ye Zhaoying in Friday's semifinals.
The number one seed Hariyanto had to show all his fighting qualities when 7-10 down in the first game to take the next seven points with a flurry of crushing airborne smashes and shots hit straight or sliced short and steep.
Park, who beat the world number in the Thomas Cup semifinals last year, failed to contain the relentless onslaught and conceded the first game in 28 minutes.
Hariyanto increased the pressure in the second game but with his deadly smashes sometimes too long, he was quickly 3-7 down.
But once again employing his rich repertoire of strokes, he started scoring repeatedly with stunning smashes to both sidelines and quickly overturned the deficit, allowing the equal fifth seed, ranked number eight in the world, just one more point.
Hariyanto, who had eliminated title holder and compatriot Joko Suprianto in the quarterfinals and avenged his loss to Poul Erik Hoyer Larsen in the semifinals, said: "I came here to win both the Sudirman Cup (team title) and the championship. After we lost the cup I was determined to win the title.
"My tactic was to set up play for my smashes and I think this is what won me the match."
Park, who qualified for the final when his semifinal opponent Denmark's Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen was forced to retire through injury, was gracious in defeat.
"I could not do anything against Arbi this time. He was just too good for me. He was very fast and his smashes were unstoppable. He is a worthy world champion," he said.
Ye Zhaoying -- Page 12