Ricky/Antonius enter Copenhagen Masters final

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian men's doubles team of Ricky Ahmad Subagja and Antonius went through to the finals of the 1998 Copenhagen Masters after winning twice on Monday.

The new partnership of Ricky and Antonius defeated the host duo of Michael Soogard and Jim Laugesen 15-10, 6-15, 15-7 in the first session. Later, in the second session, the Indonesians overcame Chris Hunt and Simon Archer of England 16-17, 15-5, 15- 9.

Ricky teamed up with Antonius because his longtime partner, Rexy Ronald Mainaky, skipped the tournament, which ends Tuesday, to celebrate Christmas with his family here.

Looking to join the Indonesians in the finals, Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen of Denmark will have to get through the Chinese duo of Zhang Wei and Zhang Jun. Both teams defeated the Malaysian pairing of Pang Cheh Chang and Cheah Soon Thoe earlier.

On the women's side, Indonesia's singles shuttler Mia Audina lost to Dane Mette Sorensen 11-12, 3-11. Mia still has a slim chance to go through to the finals, needing to defeat China's Zhang Ning on Tuesday.

Zhang defeated Sorensen 11-6, 11-1 on Sunday.

Another Chinese, Zeng Jaqiong, was assured of a berth in the final after beating home favorite Camilla Martin 11-6, 11-8. Zeng also defeated Kelly Morgan of Wales on Sunday.

In the men's singles, Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark cruised to the finals after beating Yong Hock Kin 15-4, 15-3, ending Indonesia's Indra Wijaya's hopes of reaching the final. Indra lost to Gade Christensen on Sunday.

The Dane will meet Sun Jun of China. Sun crushed 1996 Olympic gold medalist Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark 15-3, 15-11. Sun defeated Tomas Johansson of Sweden 15-11, 15-9 in his first match.

Team manager Hadi Nasri said in a facsimile that Ricky and Antonius still had problems in their teamwork.

"They have different styles of play. Antonius is a defensive shuttler while Ricky likes to improvise. However, their performance, especially in the second match, pleased the spectators," Hadi said.

"The points were played really close and tight, and they had to play for 90 minutes in the second match. But Ricky and Antonius still need to work together better on the court if they want to win the tournament," he added.

Hadi said that Mia failed to perform at her best during her match against Sorensen. It was their second meeting since Mia beat Sorensen in the Indonesia Open in early November.

"Sorensen overcame Mia's offense, and Mia made too many unforced errors on critical points, especially in the first set," he said, adding that Mia only had a small chance of reaching the finals.

Separately yesterday, Indonesia's former number one shuttler, Hariyanto Arbi, expressed optimism for his chances to qualify for the 2000 Olympics despite a nagging injury.

"I'm ready to crawl back. I'll compete in the Chinese Taipei Open late January as a warm-up to the Grand Prix Final in Brunei in February. I think I can stay healthy until the Olympics," said Hariyanto, nicknamed Hari.

"I'm not really worry about injury because I have been seeing a masseur and a sinsei (naturopath). I have been fully training since early this month. I train a lot and I have strengthened some parts of my body which are prone to injury," he said.

Hari was suffered a back injury while competing in the Indonesia Open in early November. He also injured his back in 1990 and 1996.

"I admit that I still feel afraid to bend my back, but I force myself to train and strengthen my back more," said Hari, who is ranked 18 in the world now.

Hari had competed in six tournaments this year, failing to win any of them. His achieved his best result in the Japan Open, reaching the semifinals.

Coach Agus Dwi Santoso said he could not estimate how Hari will perform.

"I can only say that he must use his chance in the Taipei Open to warm up for the Grand Prix Final. I think he's in good shape, but he has yet to regain his speed. We still have one month to prepare him better," he said.

Hari, Hendrawan and Budi Santoso are qualified for the Grand Prix Final in Brunei, which will be held from Feb. 24 to Feb. 28. (yan)