Taufik gifted kindly draw for All England opening rounds

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Athens Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat should find it plain sailing in the early rounds of the All England next week as he bids to take his first title in Birmingham.

The men's singles draw, made on Wednesday, is kind to the sixth seed, who faces a qualifier in the first round of the March 8-13 event.

He is not likely to be tested until the last eight if he can harness his talent and mental energy in the goal of winning on court.

Former Indonesian player George Rimarcdi, now representing Sweden, should not present too many difficulties if they meet in the second round. However, dangerous floater Ronald Susilo of Singapore could overcome tough ninth seeded Choong Hann Wong of Malaysia to meet Taufik in the next round.

If all goes according to seeding, Taufik would then have a quarterfinal clash with in form third seed Kenneth Jonassen. If the Bandung native can upset the form book to defeat the Dane, he would be scheduled for a semifinal showdown with top seed and defending champion Lin Dan of China

Second seeded Peter Gade of Denmark and fourth seeded Hong Chen of China are in the other side of the 64-player draw.

"I want the All England and World Championship this year," Taufik said over the weekend.

His All England commitment is such that he gave a miss to the Korea Open in January in order to prepare for tournament. He was runner-up in 1999 and 2000, and lost in the semifinal to Gade last year.

In the men's doubles, Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto are the second seeds, veterans Flandi Limpele/Eng Hian are seeded fifth and the mixed doubles duo of Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir are fourth seeds.

Luluk/Alven, who were upset in the first round of the Korea Open despite being top seeded, said seeding was not an important factor in winning a tournament.

"I never look at the seeding," Luluk, who recently recovered from a kidney problem, said on Wednesday. "We will just do our best to win the All England."

They are slated to meet top seeded veterans Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard Hansen of Denmark in the final.

Meanwhile, in the six-day selection for the Cipayung National Training Center that ended on Wednesday, Andre Kurniawan of Djarum Kudus, Central Java, won the men's singles title, with Alamsyah of Tangkas Bogasari, Jakarta, finishing second.

In the boy's singles, Fauzi Adnan of Suryanaga Gudang Garam, Kediri, East Java claimed his title. Dian Ayu Mayasari of Djarum won the women's singles, and Rosaria Yusfin Pungkasari triumphed in the girl's singles.

Frans Kurniawan/Chandra of Djarum claimed the men's doubles, while Pia Zebadiah/Nintya Khrisinda of Jayaraya, Jakarta, won the women's doubles, and Lingga/Jane David the mixed doubles.

All winners automatically earn a place at the center.