Luluk/Alvent advanced to Malaysia Open finals
Luluk/Alvent advanced to Malaysia Open finals
Eva C. Komandjaja The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Fifth seeded pair Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto became Indonesia's only hope at the 2004 Malaysia Open badminton championships after they had secured a place in the men's double final round on Saturday.
Luluk/Alvent grabbed a ticket to final round after defeating Danish Duo Thomas Laybourn/Peter Steffensen 13-15, 15-5, 15-10 in a semifinal match on Saturday afternoon.
The Indonesian pair path to victory will not be easy since they will be challenged by Malaysian top doubles Choong Tan Fuk/Lee Wan Wah in final round.
Meanwhile, another Indonesian pair in mixed doubles Nova Widianto/Vita Marissa could not have a similar result with their compatriots after losing 11-15, 8-15 to first seeded Chinese pair Zhang Jun/Gao Ling.
In men's singles, South Korean rising star Park Sung-hwan defeated world number one shuttler Lin Dan in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Malaysia Open held in Kuantan late on Friday night.
The Olympic gold medal hopeful Lin Dan, who has been virtually unbeatable over the past nine months, finally collapsed 15-12, 15-5.
The 20-year-old former Asian Junior champion Park deserves all the credit for ending Lin Dan's run, and gave scant respect to the ability of a player who has dominated the world badminton scene, winning five tournaments since September last year.
Park will next take on world champion Xia Xuanze in his first semifinal appearance in a top-level tournament.
Meanwhile on Saturday, Malaysia's only hope Lee Chong Wei secured his place in the men's singles final round after defeating second seeded China shuttler Chen Hong in three games 15-8, 5-15, 15-6.
In the women's singles, top seed Gong Ruina defeated South Korea's Jun Jae Youn 11-5, 11-1 to set up a semifinal clash against world number three Zhou Mi, who defeated compatriot Xie Xingfang 11-1, 11-8.
Another surprise came in women's singles division after new French citizen Pi Hongyan sent Holland's Mia Audina Tjiptawan packing 5-11, 11-5, 11-2. Pi will take on world number two Zhang Ning in the semifinals after the Chinese trashed Denmark's Camilla Martin 11-0, 11-3.