Taufik advances to Indonesia Open final against Chen
Taufik advances to Indonesia Open final against Chen
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Taufik Hidayat and Chen Hong will meet in the finals of the
Indonesian Open badminton championship for the third consecutive
time after winning their semifinal matches here on Saturday.
Taufik of Indonesia has won the previous two meetings and he
will face the third seed from China at the expense of top seed
Lin Dan whom he beat 15-5, 5-15, 11-15 in front of noisy home
supporters inside the Bung Karno Tennis Indoor Stadium.
Chen Hong booked his final place after outlasting fellow
Chinese and second seed Bao Chunlai, also in three games, 6-15,
15-6, 15-9.
"Holding two wins from the previous two final matches, I guess
I have a good chance to win the third," Taufik said during a
media conference after his semifinal match.
But Indonesia's hopes for a guaranteed title in the men's
doubles did not materialize after Flandi Limpele/Eng Hian failed
to overcome second seeds Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun of China, losing 17-
15, 15-8.
Title hopes now rest on Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto, who
brushed aside Malaysian pair Chew Choon Eng/Choong Tan Fook 15-7,
13-15, 15-3.
China dominated the event also with representatives in the
remaining three events.
They are already assured of the women's doubles title after
top seeds Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen set up an all-Chinese final with
third seeds Zhang Dan/Zhang Yawen.
Yang/Zhang were too strong for South Korea's Lee Kyung-won/Ha
Jung-eun with an easy 15-3, 15-5 win, while the other two Zhangs
were involved in a three-game fight with compatriots Du Jing/Yu
Yang before pulling away with a 13-15, 15-8, 17-14 win.
In the mixed doubles, top seeds Zhang Jun/Gao Ling, who edged
out Hendry Kurniawan Saputra/Li Yujia of Singapore 15-10, 15-8,
will be challenged by English pair Robert Blair/Natalie Munt, the
15-9, 3-15, 15-8 winners over Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat/Wong Pei
Tty.
Chinese contender in the women's singles is Xie Xingfang, who
will be challenged by Japanese Eriko Hirose, a surprise 11-2, 9-
11, 7-11 winner over Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand.
Xie cruised to the final after holding off Tracey Hallam of
England 11-4, 11-4.
It looked dull on Saturday after rain fell outside the sports
compound and clouds remained above. But that did not hold back
spectators.
Few were seated early but when Taufik took to the court the
number grew, almost filling the 4,000-seat stadium, shouting
relentlessly at him.
Taufik honored their loyalty on court, though it was not an
easy task in the early stage as the Indonesian star had to cope
with a strong wind from the building's AC system.
"It was blowing too hard. I felt my shuttlecock was in the
wrong place whatever shots I made. It was difficult to take
control of my shots," Taufik said.
Taufik's hardship was evident when he fell to a string of
either long or wide shots which handed Lin Dan eight points on
the trot.
In the second game, it was Lin Dan who had to struggle with
the wind, which allowed Taufik to level the score.
"In the third game, Taufik began the game on an unlucky side
of the court and I told him to try to win as many points as
possible," coach Mulyo Handoyo said.
Olympic champion Taufik was leading 8-5 during changeover.
Though, he was dealt a brief fright when he trailed 9-11 before
regrouping to wrap up the match.
While admitting difficulties caused by the strong wind, Lin
Dan, who beat Taufik in 2001 in the only other meeting between
them, appeared disappointed by the defeat.
"I had been confident about my prospects. I played well in the
opening game but I could not maintain that winning momentum," he
said through an interpreter.