Hendrawan fails to win in last hurdle
Hendrawan fails to win in last hurdle
By Primastuti Handayani
SYDNEY (JP): China dashed Indonesia's last hope to have the
red-and-white flag hoisted to the pinnacle for a second time in
the Olympic Games when Hendrawan succumbed to a determined Ji
Xinpeng in their men's singles badminton final on Saturday.
The outcome confirmed China's dominance in the sport, winning
four of five gold medals at stake. Indonesia won the men's
doubles gold through Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan.
Ji's landslide 15-4, 15-13 victory followed Olympic titles in
women's doubles earlier in the day, women's singles on Friday and
mixed doubles on Thursday.
Hendrawan stood in disappointment after his return hit the net
at the end of the 45-minute game. On the other side of the net Ji
threw his racket to the air in jubilation before coaches Tong Sin
Fu and Li Yongbo embraced him in an emotional victory
celebration.
China also took the bronze after Xia Xuanze beat Danish star
Peter Gade Christensen 15-13, 15-5.
In the women's doubles final, defending champions Ge Fei and
Gu Jun defeated Huang Nanyan and Yang Wei 15-5, 15-5 in the all-
Chinese affair. China completed a medal sweep in the category
after Gao Ling and Qin Yiyuan overcame South Korea's Ra Kyung-min
and Chung Jae-hee 15-10, 15-4 in the bronze medal match.
A sell-out crowd at the 3,000-capacity Pavilion 3 at the
Olympic Park in Homebush Bay saw top seed Hendrawan fall under
immense pressure beginning with the first serve. With seventh
seed Ji executing searing smashes and neat touches at the net,
Hendrawan was pressured into disappointing mistakes.
It took Ji, who upset Indonesian top seed Taufik Hidayat in
the quarterfinals, only 17 minutes to close out the first game.
Hendrawan fought back bravely after being seriously outplayed
in the first game and went 9-4 ahead in the second. A flurry of
errors saw a shift in momentum and Ji bounced back to take the
lead at 10-9 with deft combinations of offensive lobs and jumping
smashes.
The Indonesian regained his composure briefly to lead 13-10,
only two points from forcing a rubber set. But clinical finishes
to exhausting rallies from the Chinese youngster put the issue
beyond doubt. Holding his serve, Ji won five straight points to
claim the coveted gold medal.
"I couldn't play offensively because Ji played extraordinarily
well with his drives and offensive lobs. He really troubled me. I
wished to play the way I won the semifinal yesterday but I
couldn't," said the 28-year-old Indonesian, who will marry
fiancee Sylvia Anggraeni soon after the Olympics.
"I know I'm already 28. I'm not young anymore but I still hope
to qualify for the next Olympics. I want to keep myself fit in
the next four years. I congratulated Ji for winning the gold
medal," added Hendrawan, who afterwards burst into tears to the
astonishment of journalists attending the media conference.
"But I'm not disappointed with the silver medal. I have done
my best and this is it."
Hendrawan, who helped Indonesia retain the Thomas Cup in 1998
and 2000, dismissed speculation that it would have been easier
for him to play Gade Christensen in the final.
"It would not have been a different story. It would not have
been easier for me to face Peter as he is a very tough player."
Head coach Christian Hadinata said that Hendrawan reached his
peak form in the semifinals.
"He played outstandingly against Xia yesterday but today he
made too many unforced errors," Christian said.
Meanwhile, Ji said that he was confident to follow his coach's
instructions.
Tong, who used to coach the Indonesia national team until
1997, said he had studied Hendrawan's matches and had found ways
to overcome him.
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) chairman,
Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, said he was disappointed as his squad failed
to fulfill the target of winning two golds.
"We could not reach the maximum achievement. This is the best
result Hendrawan could give to us. We were not lucky enough to
win two golds. However, we are thankful to God for giving us one
gold."