RI shuttlers maintain hopes in Asian Games

RI shuttlers maintain hopes in Asian Games

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Busan, South Korea

Indonesia's badminton players maintained a firm determination to
do better than in their male counterparts had done in the team
event on Saturday, with an exception of the men's doubles event.

The dream of having an all-Indonesian final in the badminton
men's doubles event was thwarted when only one of the two
Indonesian pairs got through to the semifinals at the Gangseo
Gymnasium in the Gangseo Sports Park.

Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto were unexpectedly defeated
15-8, 14-17, 5-15 by Malaysians Chan Choong Ming and Chew Choon
Eng in their quarterfinals encounter.

But, an unexpected victory was enjoyed by another Indonesian
pair, Halim Heryanto and Tri Kusharyanto, who might consider it
to be sweet revenge against South Korean pair Kim Dong-moon and
Ha Tae-kwon, who defeated them in the team event.

The Indonesians won the first game 15-7 in an up-tempo
encounter but slowed down in the second game and lost 8-15. They
returned to their rapid-fire style in the third game and won 15-
8.

In the semifinals, Halim and Tri will face Pramote
Teerawiwatana and Tesana Panvisvas of Thailand.

In the other semifinals, Malaysians Chan and Chew will face
first seeds Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung.

A similar surprising defeat was suffered by mixed doubles pair
Nova Widhianto and Vita Marissa, seeded second here, who lost 11-
5, 5-11, 5-11 to the Thai pair of Sudhisodhi Khunakorn and
Thoungthongkam Saralee.

Also cruising through to the semifinals were Indonesian men's
singles shuttlers. The semifinals matches will be a private
affair between Taufik Hidayat and Hendrawan against hosts Shon
Seung-mo and Lee Hyun-il respectively.

Taufik will personally be delighted if he can defeat Shon.

"I met him twice and always won. I'm not counting our match in
the men's team final. Shon got a lot of help from the umpire and
local linesmen," he said.

Taufik also said he would pull out of the match right away if
similar irregularities happened again.

Malaysian Hashim Muhammad Hafiz was not a real challenge for
Taufik as he enjoyed a quite easy 15-11, 15-5 victory.

Meanwhile, Shon outshone Indian star Pullela Gopichand 15-9,
15-11.

Hendrawan, on the other hand, had to fight hard before winning
12-15, 15-10, 15-4 against China's Xia Xuanze.

Lee Hyun-il also had to lose the first game before winning 12-
15, 15-9, 15-6 against Malaysian Wong Choong Han.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's hopes of reaping a second gold medal
from tennis were dashed when Angelique Widjaja and Wynne Adiati
Prakusya went down 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 3-5 to host pair Kim Mi-ok and
Choi Young-ja.

"We should have won the gold medal as Angie and Wynne are the
first seeds here," team manager Suharyadi told reporters after
the match.

"But playing before the home crowd was a burden in itself. The
tension was palpable, and it was all very different," he added.

Meanwhile, Angie could not hide her disappointment.

"Of course, I'm disappointed with the defeat. I was confident
that I could win the match," Angie told reporters.