Taufik leads Indonesia charge to badminton finals
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Teenager Taufik Hidayat led a pack of Indonesian badminton players through to four of the finals at the 20th Southeast Asian Games here Thursday.
The women's doubles final will be an all-Indonesia affair, pitting Etty Tantri and Cynthia Tuwankotta against the new partnership of Indarti Issoliana and Emma Ermawati.
Malaysia ruined Indonesia's bid to produce a clean sweep, a feat it accomplished on home soil in the 1997 Games, by posting both final pairings in the mixed doubles.
Chew Choon Eng and Chor Hoi Yee upset Indonesian top seeds Agung Wahyu and Emma Ermawati in three thrilling games to meet fellow Malaysians Rosman Razak and Norhasikin. They also were tested in beating Khunakorn Sudhisodhi and Saralee Toongthongkam of Thailand 17-16, 15-12.
The long-standing rivalry between Indonesia and Malaysia in the sport was renewed on Friday.
All England finalist Taufik came from behind in each game to edge Malaysian ace Roslin Hashim 15-8, 15-13, which served as sweet revenge for the Indonesian second seed's loss during his team's winning effort in the Asian Games men's team final in Bangkok.
Patience in long rallies, powerful jumping smashes and masterful touches at the net helped Taufik clamber back from 3-7 down in the first game and 9-13 in the second.
"The key to my success was just to stay patient. When I lost to him in the 1998 Asian Games, I rushed myself to win. Now I have become accustomed to his playing style and I prepared myself for this match," said Taufik, who set up a rematch with another Malaysian Wong Choon Han in Saturday's final. Taufik routed Wong in Indonesia's 3-0 drubbing of Malaysia in the men's team final on Tuesday.
Top seeded Wong, the Commonwealth Games and Malaysia Open champion, overcame an early fright to beat Indonesia's Ronny Agustinus 17-15, 15-2 in the other semifinal. Ronny, who clinched his team's gold medal on Tuesday, won seven points in a row to force a deuce in the first game when the Malaysian was holding a game point.
"I learned from my victory over him in the Malaysia Open to beat him again," Wong recalled of his quarterfinal win last month.
Wong believed experience would help him beat Taufik.
Women's singles
In the women's singles, Cindana Hartono Kusuma crushed Sathinee Jankrajangwong of Thailand 11-1, 11-2. But Thailand made amends for the defeat when top seeded Sujitra Eakmongkolpaisarn outlasted Indonesia's Lidya Djaelawidjaja 11-9, 10-13, 11-9.
Both Cindana and Sujitra are tied 2-2 in head-to-head meetings, with the Indonesian beating the Thai in their last two encounters, including Tuesday's women's team final.
In the mixed doubles semifinals, Agung and Emma quickly sealed the opening game, but rapidly ran out of steam. They were left trailing throughout the second game before collapsing in the third.
The defeat brought to an end Indonesia's more than 20-year dominance of the sport.
"We did not carry the burden to win the match. We played well in the first game but failed to strengthen our defense in the next two games," Agung said.
Indonesia kept its hopes of winning the men's doubles alive when the tandem of Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian made short work of Thailand's Kunakorn Sudhisodhi and Kitipon Kitikul 15-3, 15-7. The Indonesian top seeds will play another Thai pairing, Pramote Teerawiwatana and Tesana Pansisavas, who upset Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook of Malaysia 12-15, 15-10, 15-12. (yan)