RI teams fall in Asian junior semis

RI teams fall in Asian junior semis

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Local entrants in the team events for boys and girls fell in
the semifinals of the Asian Junior Badminton Championship on
Tuesday, although the boys came agonizingly close to causing an
upset.

The boys' team lost a thriller to South Korea 2-3, while the
girls' team was handily defeated 1-3 by favorite China at the
Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium in Central Jakarta.

The Indonesian boys took a 1-0 lead when first singles Adnan
Fauzi beat Choi Sang Won 15-13, 15-12. However, Korea, which has
been among the main contenders in the under-19 tournament in
recent years along with China, leveled at 1-1 after doubles pair
Lee Young Dae/Cho Gun Woo defeated Tantowi Ahmad/Syarifudin 15-4,
15-12.

Korea took the lead when Han Ki Hoon beat Sakti Kusuma 15-11,
15-12, but Indonesia fought back to level at 2-2 after Viki Indra
Okvana/Mohammad Ahsan crushed Kwon Yi Goo/Shon Wan Ho 15-12, 15-
5.

It all came down to the final singles, but local hope
Adityawarman Andreas succumbed to Hong Ji Hoon 15-9, 13-15, 8-13,
retiring due to a right thigh injury as the Korean neared
victory.

China thrashed Malaysia 3-0 in the other semifinal.

First singles Chen Tianyu beat Chong Wei Fong 15-0,
8-15, 15-0, followed by the victory of Shen Ye/Zhang Wei over Tan
Boon Heong/Goh Ying Jing 15-8, 15-11. Lu Qicheng edged Daren Hew
15-7, 15-12.

In the girls' team competition, Indonesian first singles
Bellaetrix Manuputty lost to Wang Lin 6-11, 4-11, while second
singles Rosaria Pungkasari fell to Wang Yihan 8-11, 2-11.

Indonesia kept the tie alive after Pia Zebadiah Bernadit
defeated Tai Yi 11-2, 11-9, but the doubles pair of Gresya
Polii/Nitya Krisinda M Korwa went down tamely to Liao
Jingmei/Cheng Shu 6-15, 8-15.

In the final, China will meet Malaysia, which upset the
formbooks with a 3-0 triumph over South Korean.

Malaysian first singles Horsyahliza Baharum beat Jang Soo
Young 11-1, 8-11, 11-2, and Julia Wong Pei Xia overcame Choi Joi
Min 5-11, 11-2, 11-2. Lydia Cheah Li-Ya outlasted Yoo Hyun Young
4-11, 11-4, 11-9 to take the tie.

"We did not expect our girls team to go this far to the
final," Malaysian head coach Rashid Sidek said. "Usually we lose
to Korea and Japan, but we beat them this time thanks to our good
talent."

He admitted it would be a tough task for his team to overcome
the Chinese.

"Our players have nothing to lose tomorrow (Wednesday), and
will play their best," he said.

The finals will be held on Wednesday starting at 8 a.m.,
followed by the beginning of the individual competitions at 1
p.m.