Taufik leads Indonesia charge to badminton finals
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)