Olympic champion crashes at PON but W. Java through
Olympic champion crashes at PON but W. Java through
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Palembang
Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat suffered a 15-11, 17-15
shock loss to North Sumatra's Wimpie Mahardi in the first-round
team match of the National Games (PON)'s badminton competition at
the Dempo Badminton Hall here on Wednesday.
His fellow Olympic medalist Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who won a bronze
in Athens, cruised to the second round with a 15-2, 15-10 win
over Lampung shuttler Hogianto.
Taufik, the world No. 4, who won Indonesia's only gold medal
in Athens, could not put up much of a fight to hold off the
determined world No. 137, who ruled the game from the start.
Taufik, representing West Java, was down to 3-12 before he
managed to reduce the gape to 9-13. But Wimpie regrouped to
quickly close the first game 15-11.
The second game was much tougher as Taufik tried to up his
play. Both players went head-to-head right to the end, with
Wimpie emerging the winner.
Taufik blamed his fitness for the defeat.
"I lost the game because I did not have enough time to rest
for this game due a very tight schedule I had after I arrived in
Indonesia from Athens," Taufik said after the game.
"I didn't have time to practice at all", he added.
He quickly brushed aside the loss, saying that wins and losses
were the nature of the game.
Taufik said he had not forced himself to the limit during the
game, for fear of getting injured.
Wimpie, meanwhile, was unenthusiastic about the win, saying
that Taufik had not given his best against him.
"Taufik was really tired after he got home from Athens. He
could hardly find time to rest, so that's why he was defeated
today," Wimpie told The Jakarta Post with a grin.
After his triumph in Athens, Taufik made a series of victory
laps in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java. Upon his arrival in
Palembang, he took part in a similar ceremony.
Although Taufik was defeated in the first opening match, his
teammate bronze medalist Flandy Limpele teamed up with Hendra
Gunawan, to crush North Sumatra's pair of Fauzi Ikhsan and
Aswiadi F, 15-4, 15-4.
West Java took the other three matches to win the 4-1. The
other teams in Group A are Central Java, North Sulawesi and
Central Kalimantan.
Representing East Java, Sony beat Hogianto 15-2, 15-10.
"I didn't have much time to practice either since I got back
from Athens but I went home to Surabaya and practiced hard
for three days before this game and I won the game. I hope the
East Java province is able to at least grab a single medal since
it has never won a medal in a badminton group event before," Sony
told the Post.
Meanwhile, Alvent Yulianto and Tri Kusharjanto overcame
Lampung Sarno and Ronaldo 15-3, 15-3, while the Sydney 2000
Olympic Games silver medalist Hendrawan contributed a point with
a 15-7, 15-3 win over Sarno as East Java cruised to 4-1 win.
Central Java, which like West Java and East Java features many
national players, won 5-0 over North Sulawesi.
Eng Hian and Luluk Hadiyanto won 15-5, 15-6 over North
Sulawesi's pair Ronie Runtunalo and Melky. Sigit Budiarto and
Rian Sukmawan defeated Jefry and Andrian 15-4, 15-3.
In Group B, 18-year-old Simon Santoso led Jakarta to a win
over South Sumatra. The other team in the group is Banten.
In the women's division, Jakarta, spearheaded by Silvi
Antarini and Firdasari, ground to a 3-0 win over Yogyakarta.