Hoyer Larsen gives final touch to Indonesian woes
Hoyer Larsen gives final touch to Indonesian woes
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuter): Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen completed
a miserable All-England championships for the Indonesian
favorites.
The 29-year-old Dane capped the eclipse of the previously all-
conquering Indonesians with a 17-16 15-6 triumph over twice
champion and world number one Hariyanto Arbi to win the men's
title on Saturday.
This followed Friday's semifinal defeat of Indonesia's world,
Olympic and defending women's champion Susi Susanti by Chinese-
born Lim Xiao Qing of Sweden.
Lim went on to win the title with an 11-9 10-12 11-3 victory
over Denmark's Camilla Martin on Saturday to earn her adopted
country a first women's All-England success since Eva Twedberg in
1971.
Now Indonesia's world titles held by Joko Suprianto and Susi
will come under attack in May at the world championships in
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Indonesia also hold the Olympic singles titles and the Thomas
and Uber Cup men's and women's team titles. With the top six
world-ranked men and Susi supreme among the women, further
success in Birmingham was considered almost a foregone
conclusion.
Frost
Hoyer-Larsen -- beaten 15-0 15-6 the last time he met
Hariyanto -- completed three wins over Indonesians on his way to
victory and was in no doubt about where the credit for his
success rested.
Denmark's singles team began working with four-times champion
Morten Frost this year and it paid huge dividends.
"Morten has changed the way we train," he said. "He knew how
to win big tournaments and when he told us things he wanted us to
use, we listened because of our respect for his past in the
game."
Hoyer-Larsen learned everything he needed to know about Arbi's
game as he dropped the first seven points of the match.
"I knew where he smashed and that if I were able to catch his
smash, I had a chance," he said. He was soon level at 7-7 and it
stayed close to 14-all.
Hariyanto led 16-14, then Hoyer-Larsen swept three points for
the game. After that the Dane slowly turned the screw.
"This is great for us because it shows us we can compete with
the Indonesians," he said. "This is one of the most prestigious
events and this is the greatest moment of my life.
"It was a blitz at the start but in the second game I was in
control."
Hariyanto sportingly paid tribute to the victor. "I didn't
think he could respond to my play as well as he did. Whatever I
tried, he could return," he said.
Susi was every bit as gracious after losing to Lim and the
Indonesians earned much admiration in defeat.
In the final against Martin, Lim was a game and 10-2 up, only
to be forced into a third game by the gritty 20-year-old Dane.
Lim, however, put that setback out of her mind. "It was not
easy to do that but I did it," she said.
Lim left China after the Tiananmen Square riots in 1989 to
take up an offer to play for a Swedish club in Malmo.
Swedish team manager Lars Sologub said the Chinese were upset
to lose her. "They even kept her out of the Barcelona Olympics in
1992 because she had not lived in her new country for three
years," he said.
Final results
Men's singles final:
Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen (Den) bt Hariyanto Arbi (Ina) 17-16, 15-6.
Women's singles final:
Qing Lim (Swe) bt Camilla Martin (Den) 11-9, 10-12, 11-3.
Men's doubles final
Rexy Mainaky and Ricky Subagya (Ina) bt Antonius and Deny Kantono
(Ina) 15-12, 18-15, 15-8.
Women's doubles final
Gil Young and Jang Hye-ock (Kor) bt Elisa and Rosiana Zelin (Ina)
15-6, 15-3.
Mixed doubles final
Thomas Lund and Marlene Thomsen (Den) bt Jon Holst-Christensen
and Rikke Olsen (Den) 15-7, 15-7