Susi's recovers to beat China's Zen Yaqiong
Susi's recovers to beat China's Zen Yaqiong
GLASGOW, Scotland (Agencies): Former champion Susi Susanti of
Indonesia, making probably her last appearance in the World
Badminton Championships, rallied from a game down and 3-6 down in
the second to beat young Chinese Zen Yaqiong.
Susi's 3-11, 12-9, 11-3 win, achieved with the benefit of
experience and a calm head on a day when she was not playing
well, gained her a semifinals meeting with the second-seeded
Chinese, Gong Zichao.
"It took me a long time to get my game together today," Susi
said, "but I was not unduly worried. When I found the second game
also slipping away, I decided that I would not attack, but
concentrated on playing steadily, and the tactic worked.
"Even when she was on top, the Chinese girl had done a lot of
running and she got tired ... I knew she would. Then it was easy
in the third game. Now I must make sure that I go into my next
match better prepared mentally."
At the last eight stage, the women's singles has turned into
an all-Asian affair, the line-up including five Chinese and two
Indonesians.
One quarterfinal in each half is an all-Chinese affair, which
ensures them a place in both of today's semifinals.
RCTI will broadcast live the semifinals at 8 p.m. Western
Indonesian Time today.
China's other top seed, Ye Zhoaying, suffered no mishaps. The
defending world champion beat Indonesia's Cindana 15-4,15-1,
which means Ye has conceded only 13 points in three matches and
six games.
The champion's next opponent is compatriot Dai Yun, seeded
15th, who caused a minor upset by bringing down eighth-seeded
South Korean Ra Kyung-min in straight games.
The other women's singles quarterfinal in the top half will be
between Indonesia's third-seeded Olympic silver medalist Mia
Audina, and the China's sixth-seeded former world junior champion
Wang Chen.
The last non-Asian challenger, Denmark's Camilla Martin, who
was seeded four, lost 3-11, 11-7, 11-7 in a long, tense battle
with tenth-seeded Chinese Han Jingna.
A disappointed Martin said "I am so upset, I think I will give
up the game."
She said that being the last non-Asian contender in tournament
after tournament always had her under a lot of pressure.
Arbi
Meanwhile Indonesia's world champion Heryanto Arbi can see an
unexpected route to the final for the second successive time.
The Indonesian whose year has been dogged by injury feels his
luck may at last be changing after a win over sixth-seeded
Malaysian Ong Ewe Hock and the withdrawal through illness of the
favorite Dong Jiong.
Arbi showed few signs of the back injury which caused his long
lay-off or of the ring-rustiness which has affected recent
performances, in beating Ong 15-12, 15-8.
He scored well with round-the-head smashes as usual, and
played with encouraging consistency against an opponent who came
back strongly from 2-9 to 12-14 in the first game but faded in
the second half of the second.
It earned Arbi a meeting not with the formidable Dong but with
the Dane Thomas Stuer, a bronze medalist last time.
Stuer came through with a walkover because Dong, the top-
seeded All-England champion had to withdraw with a temperature of
40 degrees, which him in hospital briefly.
It was a conspicuous reversal of fortune for Stuer, who
appeared to be on the way to the final last time two years ago in
Lausanne when he was suffered a serious ankle injury in the
second game of his semifinal with Park.
With Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen gaining an unexpected entry,
thanks to the withdrawal of Dong and Peter Rasmussen surprising
Indra Wijaya, Denmark won representation in all four of the men's
singles quarterfinals.
Rasmussen beat Indra Wijaya 15-8, 8-15, 15-1, and afterwards
gave credit to Zhang Lian-Ying, the Copenhagen-based Chinese
coach who has been training him for the last four years.
Zhang told Rasmussen between the second and third games to
relax and enjoy the match, for he had been conspicuously intense
while losing last week's encounter with South Korea's Park Soo-
wung, costing Denmark a place in the Sudirman Cup final.
The advice appeared to work at once. Rasmussen's ability to
project smashes in different directions with disguises which keep
opponents rooted fluently reappeared and he romped away with the
third game.
"It was a bit too much for me to wear the whole team on my
shoulders," Rasmussen said. "But it was easier for me to play for
myself. I admit I lost my mind a little in the Sudirman Cup but
with help from my coach I did better this time."
If he finds it so again, he could be in line for a notable
revenge. Rasmussen's next meeting is with Park, who won in
straight games against Indonesia's former Olympic champion Alan
Budikusuma.
Christensen
Peter Gade Christensen made the grade beating Fung Permadi,
the Indonesian playing in the colors of Taipei, which was in
defiance of the seedings.
Olympic champion Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen qualified with a
straight-games win over Luo Yigang. He now plays Indonesian Joko
Suprianto, who used to be his bogey.
"Playing as I did today, I feel confident of beating Joko, the
Dane said. "I was very satisfied. I was relaxed and calm. In that
mode, I could vary my game as I liked and wait for my chances to
put on the pressure."
But Hoyer Larsen said "all of us Danes were riding high today,
which makes me hope that we might get an all-Danish final for a
change."