Rony shatters Wong's dream in badminton meet

Rony shatters Wong's dream in badminton meet

JAKARTA (JP): The US$150,000 Asian Badminton Championships saw
men's singles second seed Wong Choon Hann of Malaysia crash in
the quarterfinals to unseeded Rony Agustinus of Indonesia,
leaving the way open for top seed Taufik Hidayat to try for the
crown.

Host Indonesia was ensured a title in the mixed doubles as it
managed to create an all-Indonesian semifinals.

Wong, world number six, got off to a shaky start and failed to
give his best, making many unforced errors with his leaping
smashes. The left-handed Malaysian led 11-7 in the first game
before allowing Rony to take over the lead and conclude the game
15-12.

In the second game, Rony got more confident with his netting
and sharp smashes to finally win the match 15-6.

"I put pressure on Wong's performance although in the
beginning I still had to adjust to his style of play. If I didn't
take control from the beginning, he would have controlled me," he
said in a post-match conference.

Unfortunately, Wong was unavailable for comment as he declined
to appear at the conference.

Rony will challenge senior Marlev Mainaky in Saturday's
semifinals. Marlev had to sweat it out before he finally overcame
Ronald Susilo, an Indonesian playing for Singapore, 6-15, 15-13,
15-3.

Other semifinals will feature top seed Taufik Hidayat of
Indonesia and Pulella Gopichand of India.

Taufik had to use all his skills to eliminate Malaysian Yong
Hock Kin -- who is trying to make a comeback after a one-year
break due to an injury and family matters -- 17-16, 15-3.

Taufik led 14-9 in the first game before he lost control and
let Yong force him into a deuce, 14-14. In the end, the 19-year-
old Indonesian managed to claim the match.

"I lost control as I rushed to finish the game. Luckily, he
made some unforced errors at critical points. In the second game,
Hock Kin seemed to lose his concentration," Taufik said.

"He is still a good player, especially after a long break.
Anyway, it's really difficult for me to win, especially to a
left-hander."

Yong also declined to attend the news conference.

Gopichand buried the dreams of Chinese young player Chen Yu in
his international debut after a do-or-die match by winning 15-7,
16-17, 15-13.

"I came here without a target. I just want to focus on one
match at a time. About tomorrow's match against Taufik, let's
just wait and see," the 26-year-old Indian said.

Chen said he was not disturbed by the leaking roof during the
critical point of 14-13 in the third game for Gopichand.

"It was not a problem. It didn't influence my playing. I
didn't mind at all," he said as translated by Malaysian men's
doubles Choong Tan Fook.

The performance of Indonesian women's singles left Ellen
Angelina alone in the semifinals. Ellen, who defeated junior Atu
Rosalina 11-5, 11-4, will challenge top seed Lee Kyung-won of
South Korea. Lee crushed former Indonesian number one Cindana
Hartono, who had been resting since February, 11-9, 11-2.

Another semifinal will see young talented Chinese shuttler Xie
Xingfang, who beat Chan Ya Lin of Chinese Taipei 9-11, 11-1, 11-
8, and Japanese rising star Fumi Iwawaki, who easily won 11-3,
11-3 over Le Ngoc Nguyen Nhung of Vietnam.

Men's doubles top seeds Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah will
cruise to the semifinals after eliminating Sudhat Prapakamol and
Patapol Ngernsrisuk of Thailand 15-4, 15-3.

The Malaysians will meet the new host partnership of Candra
Wijaya and Antonius Budi Ariantho, who easily defeat Chien Yu
Hsun and Lin Wei Shiang of Chinese Taipei 15-1, 15-7.

Another semifinal will feature Tony Gunawan and Rexy Mainaky
facing juniors Imam Sodikin and Lulu Hadiyanto. (nvn/yan)

Selected results

Women's doubles: Etty Tantri/Minarti Timur (Ina) bt Chan
Mei Mei/Li Wing Mui (Hkg) 15-0, 15-12; Lee Kyung-won/Chung
Jae-hee (Kor) bt Angelina de Pauw/Eny Widowati (Ina) 15-9,
15-8; Rossi Riani/Diah Novita (Ina) bt Eny Erlangga/Novita (Ina)
15-8, 17-14; Lee Hyu-jung/Yim Kyung-jin (Kor) bt Deyana
Lomban/Carmelita (Ina) 4-15, 15-7, 15-9.

Mixed doubles: Wahyu Agung/Emma Ermawati (Ina) bt Deni
Setiawan/Rita Kristiani (Ina) 15-5, 15-3; Tri Kusharjanto/Vita
Marissa (Ina) bt Choi Min-ho/Yim Kyung-jin 15-10, 15-9; Bambang
Suprianto/Minarti Timur (Ina) bt Tony Gunawan/Etty Tantri (Ina)
15-11, 15-12; Santoso Sugiharjo/Eny Widowati (Ina) bt Imam
Sodikin/Upi Chrisnasari (Ina) 15-12, 15-8

Men's doubles: Tony Gunawan/Rexy Mainaky (Ina) bt Ma Che
Kong/Yau Kwon Yuen (Hkg) 15-8, 15-9; Imam Sodikin/Luluk Hadiyanto
(Ina) bt Yung Sung-gyun/Park Young-duk (Kor) 8-15, 15-10, 15-7