Indonesian shuttlers grab two titles at Malaysia Open

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian shuttlers brought home two titles at the men's and mixed doubles at the US$120,000 Malaysia Open at Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam, Malaysia, on Sunday.

Bambang Suprianto and Emma Ermawati -- partnering each other for the first time, as Emma replaced senior Minarti Timur who was sick -- managed to eliminate eighth seeds Liu Yong and Zhang Jiewen of China in the final.

The Indonesian top seeds were downed 7-8, 6-8 in the first and second of the best of five games, each with seven points at stake -- a new scoring system inaugurated in the Grand Prix series.

But experience helped Bambang to overcome the pressure and also lifted Emma's motivation to bounce back in the subsequent games with a 7-2, 7-2, 7-2 victory.

They pocketed US$7,320 in prize money.

"The final was not very easy. Liu and Zhang were also new partners just like us but we managed to control the game better, although we had to lose the first two games," Bambang said by phone from Shah Alam.

Another title came from the men's doubles, which saw an all- Indonesian final. Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto, the Japan Open winner, overcame world champions Tony Gunawan and Halim Heryanto 7-4, 4-7, 7-2, 2-7, 7-5.

"It was a very tough match, specially in the decisive fifth game. I have tried my best for the tournament and maybe it was our moment to win the event," Candra told The Jakarta Post.

"Sigit and I have yet to adapt quickly to the new scoring system but we will keep on trying. However, we still felt that the new system forced us to speed up the playing rhythm. We must keep concentrating, but sometimes when we were under pressure, we couldn't keep focused. We are not allowed to make unforced errors under the new system as each point is very valuable.

"Besides, I think we got the advantage from the court which was quite windy."

However, men's singles competitor Rony Agustinus failed to grab his first-ever title after he succumbed to Malaysian old hand Ong Ewe Hock 7-3, 2-7, 0-7, 8-6, 1-7 in a nail-biting 49 -minute match, despite being supported by at least 1,500 Indonesians.

Rony said he had started very well, but his impatience proved to be his undoing.

"I was impatient and made many errors. Of course I am disappointed, but I need to learn from this mistake so that I am not too hasty in going for the 'kill'," Rony, who bagged $8,280, was quoted as saying by AP.

Eighth-seeded Ong said that he had tried to keep calm at the event and this had paid off.

"I did not expect to be a champion again after a five-year gap. I thought that with this new scoring format of seven points, any player could win the title," said the 29-year-old Malaysian, who received $9,600 for his feat.

"I told myself to relax and play my normal game. I know that Rony is good in attack so I kept the shuttlecock low most of the time."

China dominated the women's sector by taking the women's singles and doubles titles in an all-Chinese final.

World champion Gong Ruina ousted top seed Zhou Mi 7-3, 7-2, 7- 4, while Huang Nanyan and Yang Wei defeated top seeds Gao Ling and Huang Sui 7-1, 4-7, 7-3, 7-0. (yan)