Indonesia's shuttlers make semis except for two doubles pairs
By Ivy Susanti
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): A men's doubles team and a mixed doubles pair were the only Indonesian losers in the quarterfinals of the badminton competition at the Southeast Asian Games here on Thursday.
The new pairing of Halim Heryanto and Wahyu Agung Setiawan went down to top Malaysians Lee Wan Wah and Chong Tan Fook 10-15, 13-15 in a hard-fought men's doubles match played in the packed Hassanal Bolkiah Indoor Stadium.
Malaysia dealt Indonesia another blow when its mixed doubles pair of Rosman Abdul Razak and Norhasikin shocked Halim and Indarti Isolina 15-13, 15-10 for a place in Friday's semifinals.
Despite the loss, national men's doubles team coach Sigit Pamungkas said he was satisfied with the performance of Halim and Agung.
"We did not expect them to win the gold medal, but just to be a hurdle for our major rivals. As for Agung, we have asked him to concentrate on the mixed doubles."
Indonesia's deputy team manager Retno Kustiyah attributed lack of experience playing together for deficient teamwork of Halim and Indarti.
"They lacked time to adapt to each other. They were combined as part of our strategy to win as many gold medals as possible."
Other Indonesian players cruised safely into the semifinals.
Top seeded Taufik Hidayat thrashed Brunei's Amran Kambar 15-2, 15-3. The All England finalist will next resume his rivalry with Malaysian third seed Roslin Hashim, who their only encounter at the Asian Games in December last year.
Indonesian fourth seed Ronny Agustinus reached the final four with a routine 15-7, 15-8 win over Polsana Boonsak of Thailand. Ronny, who clinched Indonesia's victory over Malaysia in the men's team final on Tuesday, will face another Malaysian, Wong Choon Han.
Coach Joko Suprianto said Taufik held a great chance to avenge his Asian Games defeat to Hashim.
"Taufik needs only to concentrate on the match and remain patient. It is not necessary for him to complete the match quickly because it could backfire on him," said the former world champion.
Women's singles
In the women's singles, Cindana Hartono Kusuma gave Kennie Asuncion of the Philippines a badminton lesson in an 11-1, 11-0 drubbing. Indonesian top seed Lidya Djaelawidjaja also advanced in convincing style by trouncing Nguyen Hanh Dung of Vietnam 11- 1, 11-2.
It is an Indonesia-Thailand affair in the women's singles semifinals, with Cindana playing Sathinee Jankrajangwong and Lidya taking on Sujitra Eakmongkolpaisarn.
Fielding young players, Indonesia, which triumphed in the men's and women's team events on Tuesday, has set its sights on winning five gold medals in the Games. It produced a clean sweep of the seven gold medals at stake in Jakarta two years ago.
It kept its bid to retain the men's doubles alive after top seeds Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian defeated the Philippine pairing of Ian Gil Piencenaves and Melvin Llanes 15-4, 15-9. The Indonesians set up a semifinal clash with Thai dark horses Khunakorn Sudhisodhi and Kitipon Kitikul.
Hopes remain high for Indonesia to clinch the mixed doubles gold medal after top seeded Agung and Emma Ermawati beat Le Thi Kim Anh and Tran Duc Sang of Vietnam 15-6, 15-8. They face the Malaysian pair of Chew Choon Eng and Choo Hoi Yee in the semifinals.