Suryana boosts hopes of representing Australia

Suryana boosts hopes of representing Australia

SYDNEY (AFP): Indonesian-born Rio Suryana boosted his claim to
represent Australia at next year's Sydney Olympics by winning the
Australian Badminton International men's singles title here
Sunday.

The 22-year-old student retained the title, which doubled as
an Olympic test event, with a convincing 15-6, 15-6 victory over
sixth-seeded Indian Abhinn Shyam Gupta.

Ranked 24 in the world, it was the top seed's third tournament
success of the year following victories at the Polish Open and
Oceania Championships.

Suryana's advisers said Sunday they expected confirmation this
week that his initial application for a "distinguished talent"
application had been rejected by the Australian immigration
department in Jakarta.

He normally would need a world top seven ranking to earn a
successful application and permanent residency, but his advisers
hope his outstanding recent form and potential will see his
second application succeed.

Suryana's advisers withheld the news of the impending
rejection of his application from him until after the Sydney
tournament.

French second-seed Sandra Dimbour had a surprisingly easy 11-
3, 11-5 win over Dutch top seed Brenda Beenhakker in the women's
singles final.

Dimbour, who had beaten Beenhakker in their two previous
meetings this year, was too steady for her opponent, who
committed many unforced errors.