Joko outlasts Alan as Indonesia Open turns up the heat

Joko outlasts Alan as Indonesia Open turns up the heat

By Hidayat Jati

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Top seed Joko Suprianto survived a battle of
champions here yesterday as he edged out Olympic gold medalist
and title holder Alan Budikusuma to earn a semifinal berth in the
Indonesia Open badminton championships.

The hard-earned 9-15, 15-4, 18-14 victory put another notch in
world champion Joko's belt.

Playing before hundreds of rabid local fans at the cozy Among
Raga sports hall, the Indonesian top flights matched each other
stroke for stroke, but determination pulled Joko through the
match which lasted more than an hour.

Joko looked outclassed in the opening set, before having his
national squad teammate on the run throughout the next two.

Alan, who failed to make his third successive Thomas Cup
finals appearance last May, conserved his energy in the second
set, hoping to rally in the third.

He trailed 5-9 in the decider, courtesy of Joko's devastating
smashes, before taking the lead at 12-11.

Joko, however, leveled the tie at 13-13. A game but frustrated
Alan had no answers for Joko's never-say-die performance.

Earlier in the day, second-seeded men's singles Hariyanto Arbi
advanced to the semifinals due to his opponent's injury, while
joint fifth-eighth women's singles Yuni Kartika survived an
intense three-setter during a long and dramatic day at the much
livelier badminton event.

Yesterday was hell for the players -- but heaven for badminton
fans and journalists -- since players had to play twice to
advance to today's semifinal round.

The 900-strong fans at the stadium were in hog heaven,
hypnotized by the long, fast rallies in the match between
Hariyanto and Hendrawan, a rookie from the junior national team.

When Hariyanto, who jumped and dove all over the place, went
down 9-15 in the first set, the excited shrieking fans attempted
to light a fire in him.

Better

Things looked little better for Hariyanto, recent champion of
the World Cup in Ho Chi Minh City, in the second set. Hendrawan,
playing like a big league shuttler, jumped out to a quick 13-7
lead.

However, Hariyanto - the fighter that he is - refused to give
up and fought stubbornly, chasing the bullet-like shuttlecocks
acrobatically.

The fans cheering clearly affected Hendrawan as he threw his
racket in disgust after missing so many opportunities. Soon
thereafter, while trailing by two points during the deuce,
Hendrawan gave up due to a severe cramp.

Earlier in the afternoon Hariyanto had neutralized Joreon Van
Dijk in a smooth 15-9, 15-7 win.

Meanwhile, Yuni Kartika, one of Indonesia's Uber Cup heroines,
survived a three-set battle of nerves by neutralizing the
skillful dropshots of veteran Tan Jiuhong of China 11-6, 5-11,
11-8.

Yuni appeared nervous throughout and showed poor anticipation.
However, when Tan netted match point, Yuni raised her arms in
triumph to the delight of the fans and teammates who cheered her
all the way.

"Yes, I was very nervous," she conceded afterwards. "Tan is a
very difficult enemy."

Results (x-denotes seed):

Men's singles:
2-Hariyanto Arbi (Ina) bt Hendrawan (Ina) 9-15, 15-14, 2-0 ret
9/16-Fung Permadi (Ina) bt 9/16-Sompol Kukasemkij (Tha) 15-4, 15-4

Women's singles:
2-Bang Soo-hyun (Kor) bt Mia Audina (Ina) 11-8, 11-3
5/8-Yuni Kartika (Ina) bt Tan Jiuhong (Chn) 6-11, 11-5, 11-8
1-Susi Susanti (Ina) bt Ika Henny (Ina) 11-6, 11-5

Women's doubles:
3/4-Elisa/Zelin Resiana (Ina) bt 5/8-Qin Yongchun/Tang Yongshu
(Chn) 15-5, 15-12
1-Chong Soo-young/Gil Young-ah (Kor) bt Sarwendah/Minarti Timur
(Ina) 18-14, 15-10.