Taufik notches first win as Arbi struggles
Taufik notches first win as Arbi struggles
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Agencies): Indonesian boy wonder Taufik Hidayat bounced back from a shock defeat to notch his first win of the Final Grand Prix at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium Thursday.
The classy 18-year-old -- who was beaten by Malaysia's Wong Choong Han in a shock upset Wednesday -- was a comfortable 15-10, 15-10 winner over China's Xia Xuanze.
World number three Taufik can still make the semifinals with a victory over Luo Yigang in Friday's final round of group matches. Xia was eliminated after suffering his second loss.
The season-ending Brunei event features the world's top 16 men's singles players, the top 12 women and the top eight doubles exponents in the men, women, and mixed disciplines.
"Taufik lost concentration and his patience during Wednesday's match, but he had both in abundance today," Indonesian coach Herry Imam Pierngadi said.
Senior Hendrawan ensured a semifinal ticket after the 27 year- old shuttler sensationally upset the world number four Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen, 15-9, 15-10 in Group D.
"He didn't seem play really well today while I have a mounting motivation to win," Hendrawan said.
"I was very doubtful today. It was more windy than yesterday which made me make unforced errors," said Hoyer-Larsen, the 1996 Olympics gold medalist.
Taufik's compatriot Hariyanto Arbi is out of contention after being taken to the hospital with a mystery stomach virus.
Hariyanto, was forced to withdraw before his showdown with China's Sun Jun.
Although Hariyanto recovered slightly later Thursday, he now has no chance of reaching the last four from Group A.
Instead, Marlev Mainaky -- who knocked out Malaysia's Ong Ewe Hock with a 15-12, 15-10 win on Thursday -- will shape up against Sun in the decider on Friday.
"I kept pushing him with my drives. I'm sure I can win if I play that way," he said.
China's Sun, himself suffering from a bad back, is seeded to meet world number four Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen of Denmark in the semifinals.
Injury-hit England were also dumped out of contention in Brunei Thursday as Nathan Robertson and Simon Archer lost a close 11-15, 15-6, 7-15 decision against Indonesian pair Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian in the men's doubles.
It was their second straight loss.
Joanne Goode, the lychpin of England's women's doubles and mixed doubles teams, had pulled out earlier in the day due to a back injury. There are no English entries in the singles events.
Elsewhere Malaysia struck one for the underdogs when Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah scored their second straight victory, this time at the expense of the top-rated men's doubles pair of Ha Tae-Kwon and Kim Dong-Moon.
The South Koreans were at the wrong end of a 5-15, 15-8, 7-15 scoreline.
Chong said: "We were a bit lucky because they made many unforced errors. Actually, they are better than us. We targeted our smashes to their bodies and we increased our speed. It's quite impossible to try to match their power."