Taufik keeps cool to reach Olympic badminton quarterfinals
Taufik keeps cool to reach Olympic badminton quarterfinals
Agence France-Presse Athens
Hot-headed Indonesian star Taufik Hidayat kept a lid on his volatile temperament to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic badminton tournament Tuesday by beating Malaysian third seed Wong Choong-Han.
Taufik, who later dedicated victory to his countrymen on Indonesia's national day, fought back from a game down to seal a 11-15, 15-7, 15-9 win.
The talented Indonesian star has a long history of tantrums and outbursts when things aren't going his way and on other occasions might well have disintegrated when trailing 5-0 in the decider.
But he maintained his cool to secure victory and will now place Denmark's Peter Gade in the last eight.
"I just kept telling myself to stay calm and hang in there," said Taufik of his final game comeback.
Taufik, who two years ago came very close to playing for Singapore after falling out with the Indonesian badminton association before performing a dramatic U-turn, admitted he was gripped by nerves in the opening game.
"I was apprehensive as Wong has beaten me on the last two occasions and I was far too cautious," he said. "But after losing the first game I sat down and tried to identify the problem and my play improved a lot.
Taufik said he would have to be at his best to beat sixth seed Gade, an opponent he has beaten only once in six meetings.
"He's always been a problem for me in the past and I hope I can put that right," he said.
Not all Indonesian shuttlers share the same luck with Taufik as seventh seeded pair Luluk Hadiyanto and Alven Yulianto crashed against South Korean duo Lee Don-Soo and Yoo Yong-Sung.
Unseeded South Korean pair Yim Bang-Eun and Kim Yong-Hyun produced a major shock by knocking out Danish top seeds Jonas Rasmussen and Lars Paaske.
The Danes took the first set, but Yim and Kim never gave up, reaching deep within themselves to snatch a dramatic 7-15, 15-6, 15-12 victory to set up a quarter-final tie against Eng Hian and Flandy Limpele.
The Indonesian eighth seeds were comfortable winners over British pair Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson.
Earlier in the day, Rasmussen, together with Rikke Olsen, knocked out South Korean top seeds Kim Dong-Moon and Ra Kyung-Min in the mixed doubles and was hoping to make it a double celebration.
Chinese number two seeds Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun were taken to three sets, but they eventually overcame the unseeded Japanese pair Keita Masuda and Tadashi Ohtsuka.
The pair will now play Danish fifth seeds Jens Eriksen and Marti Lundgaard, who beat American duo Howard Bach and Kevin Han.
South Korean number three seeds Kim Dong-Moon and Ha Tae-Kwon eased past Polish duo Robert Mateusiak and Michal Logosz and will now meet Zheng Bo and Sang Yang in the next round.
The Chinese sixth seeds defeated Malaysians Chan Chong-Ming and Chew Choon-Eng 15-11, 15-7.
Malaysian fourth seeds Choong Tan-Fook and Lee Wan-Wah ousted Thai pair Pramote Teerawiwatana and Tesana Panvivas and will play
In women's singles, China is assured of a medal as the top three seeds all clinched places in the semifinals.
Number one seed Gong Ruina produced a ruthless display of speed and power to beat Taipei's Cheng Shao-Chieh 11-3, 11-3, while compatriots Zhang Ning and Zhou Mi also advanced after wins against Wang Chen and Petya Nedelcheva respectively.
World champion and second seed Zhang will face Zhou in a mouth-watering last four clash, while Gong, the world number one, will meet Dutch fourth seed Mia Audina in the last four. Both matches will take place on Wednesday.
A silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Games when she represented Indonesia, Audina said defeating Gong would provide a perfect early birthday present.
"I beat her on the way to winning the Japan Open (earlier this year) and I hope to do the same again," she said.