No more RI shuttlers in Samsung Korea Open

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia players crashed out of the quarterfinals in the US$250,000 Samsung Korea Open on Friday.

Six seeded men's singles Marlev Mainaky fell short of power and speed to All England winner Xia Xuanze of China losing 9-15, 6-15.

Indonesia's men's doubles Tony Gunawan and Halim Heryanto bowed out to second seeds and Olympic silver medalists Lee Dong- soo and Yoo Yong-sung 10-15, 7-15.

Coach Agus Dwi Santoso told The Jakarta Post that he was very disappointed with the results as none of the shuttlers managed to reach the semifinals.

"The results are very disappointing. We had high hopes of being able to grab a title here but none of our players even managed to reach the semis," he said in a telephone interview.

Agus said Marlev was much too slow against Xia, the Olympic bronze medalist, and failed to perform his best due to lack of preparation.

"His physical fitness did not allow him to play aggressively. His preparation was not enough because of the long holiday at yearend."

Marlev said he had tried hard but failed to cope with Xia's speed and power.

"I tried to attack him from the beginning but my legs were too slow and he was very fast with his smashes. In the second game, I managed to increase my speed but it didn't take long. His defense is really perfect," he told the Post.

Xia will challenge top seed Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark, who beat host player Park Tae-sang 15-8, 15-10.

Another semis will see Lee Hyun-il of South Korea, who beat Roslin Hashim of Malaysia 15-7, 15-11, and Xiao Hui of China, who easily eliminated Kenneth Jonassen 15-4, 15-2.

Agus complained that the doubles match linesmen and service judge helped the host pair.

"The judge often faulted Tony and Halim services, especially when they were leading. The unfair judging really influenced their performance. Sometimes the linesmen made bad calls calling outside balls 'in'."

Halim declined to comment on the unfair judging saying "I think it's common if linesmen try to give advantage to the host players. At least, we have tried our best."

Lee and Yoo will face fourth seeds Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen of Denmark, who ousted Britons Chris Hunt and Julian Robertson 15-6, 15-6.

In another quarterfinals, hosts Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon defeated Michael Lamp and Jonas Rasmussen 15-13, 15-7 to set up an encounter with Danish pair of Michael Sogaard and Jim Laugesen, who beat Malaysian scratch pair Choong Tan Fook and Chan Chong Ming 15-5, 15-10. (yan)