RI gets off to winning start over HK in Sudirman Cup
RI gets off to winning start over HK in Sudirman Cup
The Jakart Post, Beijing
Indonesia overcame opening match jitters in its bid to win the
Sudirman Cup mixed team badminton championship for a second time,
overcoming a game but outclassed Hong Kong team in Beijing on
Tuesday.
If anything, the Indonesian players seemed to take their
opponents too lightly, suffering lapses of concentration at
crucial points and almost suffering the price.
"The first tie is always tough, so it's good to feel the
pressure," Indonesia's Sudirman Cup team manager Christian
Hadinata told The Jakarta Post from Beijing.
"It's not good to win too easily, or to peak too soon in the
first round. What's important is to win."
In the other group B evening match, the almighty host team
dismissed Sweden 5-0 without the loss of a game.
Indonesia got off to an excellent start, with 2005 All England
semifinalists taking only 27 minutes to overcome Indonesian-born
Albertus Susanto Njoto and Li Wing Mui 15-3, 15-3.
It appeared that Athens men's singles gold medalist Taufik
Hidayat would be similarly untroubled as he won the first game
15-5 against Ng Wei. However, the Hong Kong player refused to go
quietly, squeaking by with a 15-13 second game to force the
decider.
Everything went Taufik's way at the beginning of the third
game, with his powerful smashing and deft net play opening up
leads of 13-0 and then 14-3, with a string of match points at his
disposal.
It was then that Ng mounted a fightback as Taufik seemed
unable to close out the match. With the match teetering at 14-9
and Indonesian nerves on edge, Taufik sealed victory after a
marathon 76 minutes.
As expected, Hong Kong's talented top women's player Wang Chen
was too tough for Indonesia's Fransisca Ratnasari, who kept the
first game close before losing 8-11, 3-11.
It was up to the veteran men's doubles pairing of Candra
Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto to take the tie. After winning the
first game 15-6 against Albertus and Liu Kwo Wa, they reached
match point at 14-12. Like teammate Taufik, they seemed hard
pressed to deliver the final blow, but finally closed it out 17-
16.
Indonesia's Jo Novita and Greysia Polii had split sets in the
final women's doubles match against Li and Wai Chee Koon at press
time.
If Indonesia, who won the inaugural Sudirman Cup in Jakarta in
1989, defeats Sweden on Wednesday, it will be assured one of
Saturday's semifinal spots.
In the two group A ties on Tuesday afternoon, champions South
Korea and contenders Denmark came through contrasting tests to
win their opening matches on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Korea beat Thailand 4-1, their only loss coming from a
disappointing performance from Athens Olympics silver medalist
Shon Seung-mo.
Shon fell in a grueling match to Boonsak Polsana 5-15 15-8 17-
16 in the men's singles.
The Danes were inspired by their powerful men, and a small but
boisterous group of fans, in their 3-2 win over England.