Sony reaches World Junior Championships final

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian boys singles Sony Dwi Kuncoro remains the only hope for the country as he managed to reach the final of the World Junior Badminton Championships for the Bimantara Cup in Guangzhou, China.

Unfortunately, Indonesian boys doubles Hendra A Gunawan and Markis Kidho and mixed doubles Hendra and Lita Nurlita were unable to follow Sony's example.

Bald-headed Sony, fifth seeded in the championships, had to sweat before ousting Malaysian ninth seed Lee Chong Wei 8-6, 7-4, 7-4.

Team manager Yacob Rusdianto expressed optimism that Sony would be able to bring home the only title for the country.

"Sony has a great chance to win because his opponent is number three player in the Chinese team. He is the only non-Chinese finalists But Sony must be very careful tomorrow as he was beaten by the Chinese in the German Open junior," Yacob said in his fax.

Sony will face fourth seeded Bao Chunlai, who upset top seed and compatriot Lin Dan 7-4, 7-2, 0-7, 0-7, 7-1.

Indonesians Hendra and Markis were outclassed by top seeds Sang Yang and Zheng Bo, in the men's doubles and bowed out quite easily 7-4, 7-3, 7-0.

Sang and Zheng will complete an all-Chinese final against second seeds Xie Zhongbo and Cao Chen, who ousted compatriots Sun Qi and Jiang Lai 7-3, 7-3, 3-7, 7-1.

In the mixed doubles, fifth seeds Hendra and Lita worked hard to win the first game, but could not keep up with Chinese second seeds Sang Yang and Zhang Yawen, eventually losing 7-8, 7-3, 7-0, 7-4.

The Indonesian defeat created another all Chinese final with Sang and Zhang facing top seeds Zheng Bo and Wei Yili on Sunday.

Zheng and Wei buried South Korea's hope for sixth seeds Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Yu-mi advancing to the final, dispatching them easily 7-4, 7-4, 7-0.

In the girls singles, China also clinched the title as its top seed Yu Jin beat teammate Wang Rong 7-2, 7-2, 1-7, 7-1 to meet second seed Wei Yan, who ousted Yu-Chin Chien of Chinese Taipei 7-3, 7-0, 7-0.

China will also claim the girls doubles title as its top seeds Zhang Yawen and Wei Yili beat teammates Zhou Bingqing and Zhang Lu 7-1, 7-1, 7-3 to meet second seeds Li Yujia and Zhao Tingting, who eliminated Wu Ying and Li Yanzhen 7-2, 7-4, 7-0. (yan)