Susi and Alan on course for another Olympic engagement
Susi and Alan on course for another Olympic engagement
JAKARTA (JP): Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma strolled to
convincing wins in their final group matches at the World Cup
badminton championships here yesterday, paving their way to
another Olympic engagement.
Susi and her fiance Alan, who gave Indonesia two gold medals
in Barcelona in 1992, topped their respective groups for a place
in today's semifinals, which will be packed with host players.
Top seed Susi never looked threatened in her thumping 11-2,
11-4 victory over Kim Ji-hyun of South Korea, with the
Indonesian's brilliant net coverage thrilling the 1,000-strong
home crowd.
Alan also did everything right against his toughest contender
in Group D, Dong Jiong of China. The 26-year-old Indonesian fully
banked on his jumping smashes to knock Dong out 15-12, 15-4.
Top seed Ardy Wiranata and world number five Joko Suprianto
confirmed that Indonesia will dominate today's semifinals with
hard-earned victories. The host players left the other semifinal
berth to Chinese young gun Chen Gang.
Susi took the total control of her match, pushing Kim on her
back court with her masterful overhead lobs in a number of
rallies. It took defending champion Susi no less than 30 minutes
to complete the one-sided match.
"It couldn't have gone better. I have played her many times
and I knew well what I had to do," Susi said.
Susi will now take up her old battle against arch rival Lim
Xiaoqing of Sweden, who easily overcame World Championships
runner-up Han Jingna of China 11-2, 11-2 to finish unbeaten in
Group B.
"Lim is a player with excellent variations, but I'm trying to
do my best," said Susi, who has only lost one of her 10 games
against the Swede.
Alan never let Dong slack off in their Group D match, with
both players displaying acrobatic smashes in the opening set. But
the Chinese ran out of the steam in the second, giving Alan more
room to land his sizzling strokes.
"I played my favorite game today. Dong lacked the stamina
necessary to survive such a quick game," Alan, who stretched his
winning streak over Dong to 4-0, said.
Alan will have another clash against teammate Ardy in today's
semifinals. Ardy played his third consecutive long game before
seeing off Fung Permadi, a former teammate who now plays for
Chinese Taipei, 15-4, 8-15, 15-3.
"I'd rather meet a foreign rival than my own mate," Alan said.
"However, I'll have to fight it out in tomorrow's battle," he
added.
The other men's singles semifinal will pit Joko, who beat
South Korean Kim Hak-kyun 17-16, 15-5, against Group C winner
Chen. The Chinese breezed past Thomas Johansson of Sweden 15-6,
15-2 yesterday.
Uber Cup heroine Mia Audina proved herself the rightful future
heir to Susi's crown when she outplayed All-England finalist
Camila Martin of Denmark 11-8, 12-9 to accompany Susi into the
women's singles semifinals.
It was sweet revenge for Mia, who crashed to the Dane in the
All-England quarterfinals last March. "I managed to relax,
despite the nerve-wrecking match," 15-year-old Mia said of her
victory.
Mia, however, faces a daunting test today as she is tipped to
meet world champion Ye Zhaoying of China, who fought back from a
first-set defeat to brush aside Yuliani Sentosa of Indonesia 10-
12, 11-6, 11-1 yesterday. (arf/amd)
Photo -- Page 10