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.