Marlev hopes to reach Korea Open quarters

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian men's singles player Marlev Mainaky hopes to be able to reach the quarterfinals of the US$250,000 Samsung Korea Open on Cheju Island starting Wednesday despite a lack of preparation due to a long holiday at the year-end.

"I really want to grab another title but it seems it will be very difficult. I think I'll reach the quarterfinals to set up a meeting with the 2000 All England winner Xia Xuanze," Marlev told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

Marlev will get a bye in the first round but will meet the winner of the match between Kim Hak-kyun of South Korea and Yousuke Nakanishi of Japan in the second round.

"Kim is a veteran player and he's quite good but I think Nakanishi will be able to overcome him. I saw the Japanese guy play during my visit to Japan last year and he was very good."

Should Marlev reach the third round, the sixth seed Indonesian will likely meet Rasmus Wengberg. If he wins, he will possibly set up an encounter with Xia.

"I lost to Rasmus in the Swiss Open last year but I had just recovered from foot surgery. I'm sure I can overcome him in the tournament."

Marlev, who has been out in the cold since winning the 1993 US Open, said the long holiday at the year-end prevented him from reaching optimum physical fitness.

"I'll have to fight really hard from the early rounds. It's more important not to play long rallies to save energy due to my poor physical fitness."

The Indonesian players tried the courts on Tuesday and Marlev said he did not have a problem with the chilly weather.

Yonhap news agency reported that the Korea Badminton Association canceled Tuesday's opening of the event due to the heavy snowfall that hit the nation last weekend.

"I think the weather is not a problem at all. The problem with playing in Korea is the linesmen because most of the time they try to cheat foreign players. So I have to be really accurate with my game," Marlev said.

Separately, men's doubles specialist Sigit Budiarto, who will return with former partner Candra Wijaya, said the delay in the opening gave the players enough time to rest.

"We didn't land at Seoul airport on Monday morning due to the snow and the plane landed at Cheju airport instead. Therefore, we had to finish the immigration formalities in Seoul and just arrived here last night. As the tournament opening is delayed, it's really good because we can rest one more day," said the 1997 World Champion.

Sigit and Candra's teaming up again drew attention from the media as they used to be Indonesia's aces in men's doubles before Sigit was banned in 1998 in a doping case.

"Hopefully we can win a title here," Sigit said.

Sigit and Candra will face Kim Young-gil and Han Dong-sung of South Korea in the second round as both pairs receive byes in the first round.

If they win, they will likely meet Michael Sogaard and Jim Laugesen in the third round.

Women's doubles junior Diah Novita expressed the hope of achieving a good result in her first big tournament event.

"I was a little bit nervous but I've overcome it. We have prepared for nearly three months for the event and hopefully we won't crash in the early rounds."

Diah and partner Rossy Riani will face Choi Young-ah and Kim Song-geum of South Korea in Wednesday's first round. (yan)