RI faces tough opening round in Beijing

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian shuttlers will face tough challenges in the opening round of the US$150,000 China Open in Beijing on Wednesday.

Third seeded Budi Santoso will meet Ma Yuan Zheng of China. If he wins, he will play the winner of a match between Mika Joppien of Germany and Zhang Yi of China. If Budi, who is ranked world number seven, manages to reach the third round, he is likely to challenge 12th seeded Xia Xuanze of China.

Should Budi reach the quarterfinals, he may face either Rashid Sidek of Malaysia or 10th seeded Ji Xinpeng of China.

Indonesian Indra Wijaya will have to take on Chen Ling of China. If he wins his match, he is likely to challenge 11th seeded Luo Yigang.

Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) training director Christian Hadinata said he did not expect the shuttlers to bring home any titles.

"They only have to improve their world rankings, especially Budi, who is number seven now. He is not allowed to lose to players below his rank because it would lead him to lose points for his Olympics qualification," he said.

World number one Sun Jun of China is the top seeded player in the tournament, followed by Fung Permadi, an Indonesian playing for Chinese Taipei.

In the men's doubles, Antonius and Denny Kantono, ranked number seven in the world, will meet the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalists Pramote Teerawiwatana and Tesana Pansisavas of Thailand in the first round. If they manage to overcome the Thais, they will meet either Jeremy Gan and Chan Chung Ming of Malaysia or the Chinese duo of Jian Shun and Yan Han.

If Antonius and Denny can reach the quarterfinals, they are likely meet fifth seeded Yu Jinhao and Chen Qiqiu.

In the women's doubles, Elysa and Deyana Lomban will meet Xiao Yang and Lei Lei of China in the opener, while Etty Tantri and Cynthia Tuwankotta will face Hu Ting and Wei Yan of China. (yan)