Simon loses in HK Open opener

Simon loses in HK Open opener

JAKARTA: National number three Simon Santoso made an early exit in the US$250,000 Hong Kong Open badminton championship on Tuesday.

Simon lost 15-8, 15-8 to Yohan Wiratama, who plays for Hong Kong but is part of the exodus of national badminton players to other countries. Yohan, 28, is the younger brother of 1992 Barcelona Olympic men's singles champion Allan Budikusuma.

National number one Taufik Hidayat, who is seeded fifth, and number two and 14th seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro were scheduled to play later.

In the women's event, top seeded Zhang Ning of China romped past Hwang Hye-youn of South Korea and Pi Hongyan of France completed an 11-7, 11-6 win over Mia Audina, the Indonesian-born player now representing the Netherlands, Agence France-Presse reported from Hong Kong. -- JP