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.