No Indonesia shuttlers in semifinals

By Primastuti Handayani

COPENHAGEN (JP): None of Indonesia's shuttlers reached the semifinals of the World Championships at Brondby Hall on Friday. This is the worst and the most humiliating results since the biennial championships was first staged in 1977 in Malmo, Sweden.

Deputy team manager and head coach Christian Hadinata said, "I am very disappointed because since I became a coach and a team manager, this is the worst result and I witnessed it myself."

"To be frank, I haven't observed international tournaments for a very long time which also affects my analysis. I was very surprised to see that many countries have showed their best performances," he said.

Christian said the indication of Indonesia's decline was seen in four tournaments early this year -- the Taipei Open, the Korean Open, the All England and the Japan Open.

"In the All England, we only won in the men's doubles, while in Japan we went home empty-handed. Now we can't reach the semifinals. This is the worst in Indonesian badminton history," the gray-haired coach said.

Men's singles Hendrawan had to bow out to 1996 Olympic gold medalist Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark in a thrilling 50- minute match 8-15, 15-5, 15-4.

"I failed to equal his speed specially in the second and third games. His strokes were very fast and I started to become very defensive. I was under pressure and I could not overcome it," Hendrawan said after his match.

"I feel very tired because of long matches since early rounds and I have to admit that my preparation is not enough. However, I'm quite happy that I am getting back to reach my standard of playing although I failed in this tournament," said the 26-year- old Indonesian, who is seeded eight.

Hoyer-Larsen, seeded fourth, said: "I am quite satisfied with the match. Hendrawan forced me to make errors in the first game. In the second and third games, I played more aggressively and I am very pleased that I reached the semifinals."

Hoyer-Larsen, the tournament's oldest player, will face Chinese Sun Jun. Second-seeded Sun defeated Dane Thomas Stuer- Lauridsen, seventh seeded, 15-5, 15-13 in 46 minutes.

Speaking about his chance to face Sun, Hoyer-Larsen said: "It will be more difficult to face Sun Jun tomorrow. He always seems to pass through me. But my physical condition equals my standard in the 1997 championships." The Dane hopes to take revenge on Sun after losing in the championships semifinals two years ago.

Pain

Women's singles Cindana Hartono Kusuma, seeded 10, failed to make another surprise as she lost quickly to second-seeded Gong Ruina of China 3-11, 2-11.

"I'm very sorry that I lost but I could not stand the pain in both my toes. It also hurts when I walk. But I believe that if I meet her again, when I'm in better physical condition, I can equal her playing," said Cindana.

"Gong didn't play really well but since my performance was really bad and I was always late to anticipate, she looked good. But she did not play all out," said the 22-year-old shuttler.

In the men's doubles, where Indonesia usually dominates, three pairs failed to reach the semifinal berths.

Defending champion Candra Wijaya, who now partners Tony Gunawan, failed to recreate history by winning the championships two times in a row. The second seeds lost to Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon 15-12, 7-15, 10-15.

"I felt my brain was so exhausted and I couldn't concentrate. We rushed to win but we made unforced errors in critical points," said Candra, who won the title with former partner Sigit Budiarto.

Both Candra and Tony, who finished their 88-minute match at 12:04 a.m. local time, failed to hide their frustration. They both shook their head when coach Herry Imam Pierngadi evaluated their performance.

"It should be the final. Too bad we met them in the quarters," Candra said.

Veterans Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky, fourth seeded, also failed to overcome the Korean pair of Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong- sung 15-11, 11-15, 9-15.

Rexy, 31, blamed their loss on the Chinese referee saying that he should not have faulted him and Ricky five times in the third game.

"I thanked him for our loss," he said emotionally.

Second seeded Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian also failed to overcome Chinese doubles of Zhang Jun and Zhang Wei, losing 15- 11, 3-15, 13-15 in 70 minutes.

Results (x-denotes seedings):

Men's singles: 1-Peter Gade Christensen (Den) bt 13-Peter Rasmussen (Den) 15-4, 15-3; 5-Fung Permadi (Tpe) bt 12-Kenneth Jonassen (Den) 15-13, 12-15, 15-10; 4-Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen (Den) bt 8-Hendrawan (Ina) 8-15, 15-5, 15-4; 2-Sun Jun (Chn) bt 7-Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen (Den) 15-5, 15-13

Women's singles: 8-Mette Sorensen (Den) bt Kelly Morgan (Wal) 9-11, 13-10, 11-8; 4-Dai Yun (Chn) bt Lee Kyung-won (Kor) 6-11, 11-5, 11-7; 3-Camilla Martin (Den) bt 5-Zhang Ning (Chn) 11-9, 11-7; 2-Gong Ruina (Chn) bt 10-Cindana Hartono (Ina) 11-3, 11-2

Men's doubles: 13-Simon Archer/Nathan Robertson (Gbr) bt Yu Jinhao/Chen Qiqiu (Chn) 15-7, 15-13; 10-Lee Dong-soo/Yoo Yong-sung (Kor) bt 4-Ricky Subagja/Rexy Mainaky (Ina) 11-15, 15-11, 15-9; 12-Kim Dong-moon/Ha Tae-kwon (Kor) bt 3-Candra Wijaya/Tony Gunawan (Ina) 12-15, 15-7, 15-10; 11-Zhang Wei/Zhang Jun (Chn) bt 2-Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian (Ina) 11-15, 15-3, 15-13;

Women's doubles: 15-Ra Kyung-min/Chung Jae-hee bt 1-Huang Nanyan/Yang Wei (Chn) 5- 15, 15-12, 15-13; 4-Ann Jorgensen/Majken Vange (Den) bt 9-Joanne Goode/Donna Kellogg (Gbr) 15-17, 15-10, 15-3; 5-Qin Yiyuan/Gao Ling (Chn) vs Mette Sorensen/Rikke Olsen (Den) 15-8, 15-9; 2-Ge Fei/Gu Jun (Chn) bt Nicole van Hooren/Lotte Jonathans (Ned) 15-8, 15-4;

Mixed doubles: 1-Kim Dong-moon/Ra Kyung-min (Kor) vs 8-Liu Yong/Ge Fei (Chn) 15- 7, 7-15, 15-8; 3-Michael Sogaard/Rikke Olsen (Den) vs 2-Simon Archer/Joanne Goode (Gbr) 15-5, 15-9