Indonesia left with two pairs in Thailand Open

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Mixed doubles pair Anggun Nugroho/Eny Widiowati and men's doubles Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto are the only Indonesian contenders left in the US$50,000 Thailand Open after Friday's matches.

Simon Santoso's march in the men's singles was halted after he was defeated by home star Boonsak Polsana 15-7, 15-9 to follow the exit of Wimpie Mahardi and Andre Kurniawan earlier.

Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan also failed to hold their own against the Thai players, crashing out 1-15, 15-10, 15-12 to Sudket Prapakamol/Patapol Ngernsrisuk.

Indonesia could have banked hopes on Candra Wijaya/Halim Harayanto, but the pair were forced to withdraw because Candra suffered an injury during a training session on Thursday.

Anggun/Eny defeated Chinese Taipei pair Tsai Chia Hsing/Cheng Wen Hsing 15-13, 15-6 and marched to the next round, where they will meet Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms of England.

Robertson/Emms secured their semifinal tickets at the expense of Kevin Han/Howard Back of the United States with a 15-4, 15-1 win.

Luluk/Alven will challenge Huang Shih Chung/Chien Yu Shun of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals, after the Indonesian men's double duet upset Japanese duo Tadashi Ohtsuka/Keita Matsuda 8- 15, 15-4, 15-1 on Thursday.

Huang/Chien were the 15-13, 15-13 winners over Liu Kwok Wa/Albertus Susanto Nyoto of Hong Kong.

The semifinals matches are scheduled to be played on Saturday, while the finals are on Sunday.