Ill wind blows for players in junior badminton tourney

Ill wind blows for players in junior badminton tourney

Moch N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Players in the Milo Junior Indonesia Open here are finding
their opponents to be only part of the problems they face on
court.

A strong draft in one of the stadiums used for the tournament
is also playing havoc with their games.

Nearly all the top seeds in girls' singles advanced to the
second round on Tuesday's opening day, but 5/8th seed Yvone Sie
of the Netherlands, whose parents are Indonesian-born Dutch
citizens, was thrashed 2-11, 1-11 by Djarum Kudus player Azizah
Ria Nur.

Second seed Tai Yi of China was also given a scare by
Malaysia's Tee Jing Yi before winning 11-3, 5-11, 11-2, with the
draft contributing to her numerous unforced errors in the second
game.

Lisa Malaiholo, another Dutch player with an Indonesian
father, said the draft made it difficult for her to judge the
flight of the shuttlecock in Tembau Sports Hall.

"The wind is very strong and it was very lucky that I won,"
she said after sneaking by local hopeful Purwaningsih 11-3, 6-11,
11-7.

Chief referee Julius Tetelepta admitted the wind was strong at
the Tembau venue, saying he had received no similar complaints
about Ngurah Rai Sports Hall, where all-Indonesian contests are
being played.

"You can see here that the wind blows strongly through the
open door. We tried to put up barriers of planks and banners but
it didn't work. It's to be expected that the players would
complain about it," he said.

Top seed Wang Yihan of China was untroubled by the draft,
romping to a 11-5, 11-1 victory over Sri Lankan Dinusha J.P.
Kasadogure.

Indonesian 3/4 seed Belaetrix Manuputty of Jaya Raya club won
11-9, 11-4 over unseeded compatriot Rhany Christina Sanusi of
Djarum Kudus, while Sylvina Kurniawan, also seeded 3/4, received
a walkover from fellow local player Pranita S. Devi.

Pia Zebadiah of Jaya Raya, also seeded 5/8, advanced to the
second round with a 11-6, 11-3 win over unseeded compatriot
Cisita Jansen.

In boys' singles, top seed Lu Qicheng of China, second seed
Fauzi Adnan of Indonesia, 3/4 seed Zairul Hafiz Zainuddin of
Malaysia, 3/4 seed Chen Tianyu of China and 5/8 seed Achmad Rivai
of Indonesia will play on Wednesday in Tembau Sport Hall.

Apart from the host, 11 countries are represented in the
event: the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, China,
Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Syria and Iran.