No Indonesian shuttlers left in Swiss Open

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has suffered another humiliating defeat, with none of its players reaching the final round of another Grand Prix series tournament, this time the Swiss Open.

China, on the other hand, continues to go from strength to strength: the finals in the event's men's singles, women's singles and women's doubles are to be contested solely by Chinese shuttlers.

Indonesia's sole hope in the men's singles, Hendrawan, failed to take revenge against Chinese Xia Xuanze, who won the All England title last week, in the semifinals of the four-star competition in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday.

Eighth seed Hendrawan, whose last major achievement was runner-up in the 1998 Asian Games, managed to overcome Xia, who defeated him in the All England quarterfinals. Unfortunately, the Indonesian, who only recovered from typhoid late last month, failed to fulfill his ambition and had to bow out 11-15, 15-8, 11-15 in one hour and five minutes to Xia.

Xia, sixth seeded here, will face compatriot Ji Xinpeng, fifth seeded in the tournament, in Sunday's final. Ji earned a comfortable win thanks to Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark, who retired after losing 10-15 in the first game. World Badminton did not report on the cause of his retirement.

In the men's doubles, Indonesians Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian suffered a humiliating defeat against top seeds Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon of South Korea 5-15, 1-15, in just 36 minutes.

Kim and Ha will face the Danish pair of Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen. Fourth seeds Eriksen and Larsen managed to upset second seeds Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung of South Korea 15-9, 10-15, 15-12, in one hour and 27 minutes.

Top seed Dai Yun is closer to fulfilling her ambition of winning the tournament after she eliminated teammate Han Jingna 11-1, 11-3, in only 15 minutes.

However, Dai will face compatriot Gong Ruina, second seeded here, in Sunday's final. Gong also earned an easy win over South Korean Lee Kyung-won 11-4, 11-2 in only 22 minutes.

The women's doubles final will also see a battle between Chinese duos. Third seeds Qin Yiyuan and Gao Ling surprisingly upset top seeds Ra Kyung-min and Chung Jae-hee of South Korea 15- 8, 15-13. Qin and Gao will face unseeded teammates Huang Nanyan and Yang Wei, who upset the third seeds Yim Kyung-jin and Lee Hyo-jung of South Korea 15-10, 15-11.

In the mixed doubles, top seed Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min of South Korea easily defeated Jens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager of Denmark 15-4, 15-3. The Koreans will face fifth seeds Zhang Jun and Gao Ling of China. The Chinese tamed little-known Khunakorn Sudhisodhi and Saralee Thuntongkham of Thailand 15-9, 15-12. (yan)