RI's Sigit, Halim bow out to Olympics silver medalists

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian shuttlers had to go home empty handed as the country's sole hope in men's doubles, Sigit Budiarto and Halim Heryanto, had to bow out in Saturday's finals at the US$30,000 Hong Kong Open.

The Indonesian new partnerships failed to overcome 1996 Olympics silver medalists Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock of Malaysia losing 12-15, 12-15.

Sigit and Halim -- who have been absent from tournaments for nearly one year as Sigit was banned by the International Badminton Federation after consuming nandrolone -- were shaky in the beginning.

The Indonesians were leading 11-5 in the first game when Sigit started to change his playing from offensive to defensive. Cheah and Yap managed to trail 11-11 before both doubles tied 12-12. The Malaysians did not spoil the chance to conclude 15-12.

In the second game, Halim made many unforced errors from his serves due to the pressure, while Sigit could not control his smashes, which mostly hit the net.

Coach Sigit Pamungkas said Sigit and Halim needed to work harder, especially Halim on his serves, if they both wanted to fulfill their ambition to qualify for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

"Sigit has been able to control his strokes and the game but Halim only wants to smash hard. They need lots of training sessions and competitions. Both players must increase their self- confidence to reach world-class performance," he said in a telephone interview.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia has targeted the new pair to qualify for the Olympics in the remaining five Grand Prix series next year.

Xinhua reported second seeded Chen Wei of China took the men's singles title of the championships after defeating third seed Tam Kai Chuen of Hong Kong 15-12, 15-4.

In women's singles, Chinese newcomer Xie Xingfang had to work hard to overcome Wan Ting Ling of Hong Kong 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 on her way to the victory.

Women's doubles top seeds Chen Lin and Jiang Xuelian of China crushed teammates Lu Ying and Huang Sui, second seededs here, 15- 17, 15-12, 15-8.

In the mixed doubles, Malaysians Chan Chong Ming and Joanna Swee Ling Quay, third seeds here, grabbed the title after eliminating the Chinese duo of Guo Siwei and Chen Lin 15-11, 15- 8.

The Malaysian doubles have showed a great improvement thanks to South Korean coach Park Joo-bong, who formerly coached the English team. (yan)