Taufik cruises in bid for sixth Indonesia Open
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.