Taufik cruises in bid for sixth Indonesia Open

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

World and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat was little troubled on Wednesday as he opened his campaign for his sixth Djarum Indonesia Open in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Taufik defeated Raj Popat of Wales 15-5, 15-6 in a one-sided match that often resembled a relaxed training session for the Indonesian. The 24 year old, who is the third seed in the US$250,000 tournament, raced to a 4-0 lead, but allowed the Welsh teenager to close to 6-4.

Taufik sent his 300th ranked opponent about the court in a desperate attempt to retrieve his shots, only him one more point before he took the game.

The second game followed a similar pattern, with Taufik picking up the pace from 7-5 to close out the match.

"Today was OK," Taufik said. "My opponent wasn't so strong, but I will look at my progress step by step."

Despite the absence of Chinese players, who are competing in their national championships, Taufik, who next faces Vietnam's Nguyen Quang Minh, said his path to the final would be difficult. A meeting with compatriot Simon Santoso is possible in the third round, as well as Thailand's dangerous eighth seed Boonsak Ponsana in the quarterfinals.

"But my target is still to win the championship," he added.

If Taufik, who won in 1999, 2000 and the three last years, takes the title on Sunday, he would equal the record of Indonesian Ardy B. Wiranata.

Another local winner was 2005 Asian Champion and 14th seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who thrashed Jakarta's Aditya 15-1, 15-6.

"I can't measure my performance yet because it is my first match and my opponent wasn't tough," he said. "I will know how I am playing if I meet a tough opponent."

Sony, who has been hampered by a foot injury since last year, said he did not have a particular target for the tournament.

"If I win or lose in quarterfinals or semifinals, it will be OK for me," said Sony, who next plays Malaysian Yogendran Khrishnan.

Simon, who is seeded 16th, also advanced to the second round after weathering a tough first game from Lee Cheol Ho of South Korea, winning 15-12, 15-4.

Top seed Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark progressed by drubbing local player Wisnu Haryo Putro 15-3, 15-1.

In women's singles, Fransisca Ratnasari Hari S was unfortunate to meet third seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in the first round.

Fransisca, who caused a huge upset last year over Pi Hongyang of France, lost to Wang 8-11, 4-11.

Top seed Pi, second seed Yao Jie of the Netherlands, fourth seed Eriko Hirose of Japan and fifth seed Kaori Mori of Japan all won.