Taufik set to meet Shon in final
Taufik set to meet Shon in final
Agencies
Athens
Indonesia won a second medal courtesy of Flandy Limpele and
Eng Hian while Taufik Hidayat ensured the quest for a badminton
gold was still alive after he booked a place in the men's singles
final on Friday.
Flandy and Eng Hian, the eighth seeds, took the bronze medal
in the Olympic men's doubles badminton after defeating Danish
fifth seeds Jens Eriksen and Marti Lundgaard 15-13, 15-7 in 53
minutes.
Top seeds Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon, who spoilt the
Indonesian pair's gold bid on Wednesday, cruised through to win
the gold medal with a 15-11, 15-4 victory over unseeded Lee Dong-
soo and Yoo Yong-sung in the all-Korean final.
Meanwhile, unseeded Taufik, a quarterfinalist in Sydney four
years ago, beat Thailand's Ponsana Boonsak 15-9, 15-2, but
Indonesia's hopes for an all-Indonesia final were shattered after
Sony Dwi Kuncoro was beaten by Shon Seung-mo of South Korea later
in the day.
Shon, who is partially sighted after being struck in the right
eye by a shuttlecock when he was 15, overcame eighth seed Sony
15-6, 9-15, 15-9.
Sony, twice Asian champion, will play in Saturday's bronze
medal match against Ponsana.
Taufik, who knocked out Malaysian third seed Wong Choon-Han
and Danish sixth seed Peter Gade on his way to the last four, has
a long history of tantrums, but he kept his temper under control
to march into Saturday's final against Shon.
"Everyone has been saying to me that I am not so emotional on
court in this tournament," said the charismatic 23-year-old, who
wears a diamond stud in his left ear.
"I can't explain it, but I feel much more relaxed, more than I
have ever done, much more than in Sydney."
Asked what was the key to defeating Ponsana, the first Thai to
reach the semifinals of the men's singles at the Olympics, the
Asian champion said: "My heart and my head."
Taufik, who two years ago came very close to playing for
Singapore after falling out with the Indonesian badminton
association, said he thought Ponsana performed way below his
best.
"Ponsana is a difficult opponent, but today he made many
mistakes," he said.
Ponsana, who knocked out South Korean fifth seed Lee Hyun-iI
in the round of 16, led 6-5 in the opening game.
But the 22-year-old unseeded Thai was unable to maintain his
solid start and a string of unforced errors allowed Taufik to
take control of the match.
The Indonesian battered Ponsana with a series of leaping
cross-court smashes and conceded just three more points on his
way to wrapping up the first game.
Taufik romped the second game with a near flawless display to
keep alive his bid of emulating compatriot Alan Budi Kusuma, who
took gold in the men's singles in Barcelona 12 years ago.
Shon, 24, was lost for words after becoming ther first Korean
to reach the final of the men's singles at the Olympics.
"I don't know what to say," he said. "I'm full of emotion,
I've made history."
China was assured of its third Olympic gold medal in badminton
as two of the country's teams reached the final of the women's
doubles.
Number one seeds Zhang Jiewen and Yang Wei defeated South
Korean third seeds Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won 15-6, 15-4 ,
while number two seeds Huang Sui and Gao Ling, the reigning world
champions, beat compatriots Zhao Tingting and Wei Yili 15-10, 17-
14.