RI shuttlers win three final berths

RI shuttlers win three final berths

BANGKOK (JP): Indonesia assured itself of three final berths
plus one consolation bronze in the semifinals of the 13th Asian
Games badminton competition at the Thammasat University sports
complex on Wednesday.

Hendrawan proved himself the strongest contender for the men's
singles crown as he upset world number two and top seed Sun Jun
of China 6-15, 15-12, 15-9 in one hour and 24 minutes. It was
Hendrawan's second straight victory over Sun in one week and his
fourth successive victory in their seven career meetings.

The Indonesian world number five will now face China's Dong
Jiong, who booked his place in the final with a 15-5, 15-10
victory over Malaysia's Yong Hock Kin.

"We stand an equal chance of winning the gold medal. I'm a bit
unwell, but that can't be an excuse. This is my chance to prove
that I deserve the crown," said Hendrawan, who lost to Dong in
their only previous encounter at the 1997 Grand Prix finals in
Jakarta.

The 26-year-old Hendrawan has been battling against a fever
for the past two days.

State-owned TVRI will broadcast the Asian Games badminton
finals live on Thursday at 2.30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time.

Men's doubles favorites and defending champions Ricky Subagja
and Rexy Mainaky also went through to the final with a 15-10, 15-
11 victory over the Chinese duo of Liu Yong and Yu Jinhao.

The women's pairing of Elysa Nathanael and Deyana Lomban
scored the upset of the day when they toppled the Chinese world
number two pairing of Qin Yiyuan and Tang Hetian 15-10, 15-5.

The mixed doubles team of Tri Kusherjanto and Minarti Timur,
ranked number two in the world, were the only Indonesians to bow
out of the competition on Wednesday. They crashed to a 16-17, 9-
15 defeat against South Korea's Lee Dong-soo and Yim Kyung-jin
and will now have to settle for a bronze medal.

South Korean made certain of claiming the mixed doubles title
after the country's other pairing of Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-
min strolled to a 15-3, 15-6 win over China's Zhang Jun and Qin
Yuyuan in the other semifinal.

Playing before the constant cheers of 150 Indonesian
supporters, Hendrawan had no answer to the aggressive tactics
deployed by the reigning All-England champion Sun, who piled the
pressure on his opponent early in the match.

However, Hendrawan gained the upper hand in the second set
when his opponent switched to energy conserving tactics.

Hendrawan defied his age and gave his younger opponent a
lesson in endurance, matching him stroke for stroke in long,
exhausting rallies which he frequently won.

The match was virtually settled when Hendrawan raced to a 12-9
lead in the deciding set. Sun was totally defenseless and left
the door open for Hendrawan to pile down smash after smash.

"I almost gave up. But I regained my confidence when I
remembered that I was just a step away from the final. I need to
prove to myself that I'm a true champion," Hendrawan said.

There was an emotional celebration on the Indonesian side
after Deyana and Elysa notched an upset win over the Chinese
favorites, with coach Imelda Wiguna hugging and kissing her
players in tears of joy.

"I never expected them to win, but they shrugged off the odds
and pulled out a never-say-die performance. Hopefully they can
now go all out for the gold," Imelda said.

Elysa and Deyana will meet the top seeds and reigning world
champions Ge Fei and Gu Jun of China, who eliminated Ra Kyung-min
and Chung Jae-hee of South Korea 15-11, 15-9.

In the men's doubles, Ricky and Rexy will face Pramote
Teerawiwatana and Siripong Siripool from the host nation, who
upset South Korea's Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung 16-17, 15-6,
15-7.

The women's singles final will pit Chinese second seed Gong
Zhicao, a 6-11, 11-4, 11-4 winner over Lee Joo-hyun of South
Korea, against Japanese giantkiller Kanako Yonekura, who crushed
home favorite Sujitra Eakmongkolpaisarn 11-5, 11-2. (yan)