India's Gopichand survives Sony's test

JAKARTA (JP): All England men's singles champion Pullela Gopichand of India survived a quarterfinals test on Friday over host newcomer Sony Dwi Kuncoro in a tough match in the US$170,000 Sanyo Indonesian Open at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium.

Sony, the Asian Junior Championships runner-up, took the first two games 7-3, 7-0 easily before suffering a drop in stamina giving a chance to the second seed Gopichand to bounce back and win the remaining three games 7-4, 7-5, 7-3.

Dominating the court, Gopichand sent the 17-year-old Sony all over the court but failed to grab more points especially when both shuttlers were engaged in netting play. Gopichand seemed reluctant to smash and sent long lobs instead. Support from nearly 1,500 spectators also helped Sony to remain motivated.

"Sony is a really good shuttler. He put me under pressure with fast play in our first two games. I also made too many unforced errors," Gopichand told a post-match conference.

"In the third game, I noticed that he was very exhausted and so took the offensive. I saved my energy in the first two games with long rallies. However, we had a very tough match today."

Sony said he started to underestimate his Indian opponent after leading 2-0.

"I was very surprised to learn how easy it was to lead 2-0 and I thought I should loosen my grip when I was leading 4-1 in the third game. But Gopichand managed to win point after point, which really shocked me," he said.

"Entering the fourth game, I lost my confidence and was unable to play at my best. Maybe I wasn't mentally ready to be such a success."

Despite the defeat, Sony said it was his biggest achievement so far and he was very lucky to be able to challenge world class shuttlers including Richard Vaughan of Wales and Gopichand.

World ranked eight Gopichand will challenge another Indonesian Marlev Mainaky, who easily defeated Agus Harianto of Hong Kong 7- 5, 7-3, 7-4.

In another semifinals match, Lee Hyung-il of South Korea will meet Lee Tsuen Seng of Malaysia. The Korean top seed defeated Malaysian James Chua 7-3, 1-7, 7-4, 7-3.

Lee Tsuen Seng, runner up at the Swiss Open earlier this year, had to use up all his energy to overcome Colin Haughton of England 7-3, 7-8, 2-7, 7-2, 7-2.

Women's singles top seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong cruised to the semifinals after outclassing Ng Mee Fen of Malaysia 7-4, 7-4, 7- 0. Wang will meet host Cindana Hartono who beat Japanese Mika Anjo 7-0, 7-3, 7-0.

Indonesia has already secured a place in the final as second seed Lidya Djaelawidjaya will be challenged by compatriot Ellen Angelina in Saturday's semifinals.

Lidya defeated Louisa Koon Wai Chee of Hong Kong 7-4, 5-7, 3- 7, 7-2, 7-1 and Ellen crushed Japanese Maiko Naka 7-4, 7-2, 7-1.

The host crowd was stunned when top mixed doubles pair Bambang Suprianto and Minarti Timur were ousted by fifth seeds Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms of England 7-4, 7-3, 5-7, 7-4.

"Bambang and Minarti were one of our hurdles to reach the finals. But I will just take it match by match and concentrate on the semifinals where we will meet another strong Indonesian pair," Emms said after the match.

Robertson and Emms will then face Tri Kusheryanto and Emma Ermawati, who upset third seeds Michael Lamp and Ann Lou Jorgensen of Denmark 7-5, 7-0, 7-4.

Host's second seeds Nova Widhianto and Vita Marissa cruised to the semifinals and will face Danish pair, fourth seeds Frederik Bergstrom and Jenny Karlson.

World champions Tony Gunawan and Halim Heryanto were lucky enough to cruise to the semifinals when Bambang and Tri, playing in the men's doubles, had to retire due to Bambang's injured ankle while leading 1-0 in the third game. Bambang and Tri were ahead 7-5, 7-2 in the first two games.

Tony and Halim will meet compatriots Davis Efraim and Karel Mainaky who defeated Malaysian fourth seeds Che Hong Ma and Kwun Yuen Yau 1-7, 8-7, 7-5, 7-4, 7-2. (nvn)