Taufik to meet Hariyanto in men's final
Taufik to meet Hariyanto in men's final
JAKARTA (Agencies): Indonesian shuttler Taufik Hidayat had his sweet revenge against world No. 1 Peter Gade Christensen on Saturday, beating the Dane 14-17, 15-13, 15-10 in the semifinals of the US$150,000 Konica Cup Singapore Open.
Eighth-seeded Taufik will challenge senior Hariyanto Arbi, seeded 15, in the all-Indonesian men's singles final on Sunday.
Hariyanto, who has been in top form with the Indonesian team this year and has considered joining another country, upset sixth-seeded and 1998 Singapore Open champion Hendrawan in a rubber set 4-15, 15-11, 15-10.
But the day belonged to Taufik who proved third time lucky against Christensen. The start of the match seemed to indicate a repeat of the Indonesian's earlier defeats at the hands of the Dane.
Taufik lost to Christensen the last time they met in the All England final in London earlier this year.
Christensen wiped off a 2-6 deficit to go ahead 9-6 before winning on the reset at 17-14, AFP reported.
That was the trigger for the 18-year-old Taufik to come out firing in the second. He appeared over-eager to attack and was soon down 4-11. But the tactic paid off as his smashes began to find their range and he was level on 12-all, before taking the game at 15-13.
Taufik once again fell 0-5 behind in the decider. But tenacious play at the net helped him come back strongly yet again as he built up a 12-8 lead. Taufik never looked back thereafter and wrapped up the match 15-10.
Taufik won two gold medals in the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. He surpassed the target set by the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), which predicted he would be beaten in the semis.
Hariyanto could not have dreamed of a worse start as defending champion Hendrawan went a game up at 15-5 in quick time. Attacking with great precision, Hariyanto hit back in the second to go ahead 8-2 and was soon on level terms with a 15-11 win.
The players stayed level till 8-8 in the decider but once again the 27-year-old Hariyanto's attack proved the clincher. The 1997 Singapore Open champion was through to the final with a 15- 10 finish.
The Indonesian and Danish players, now playing in the Singapore Open, will meet each other in the five-day Indonesian Open starting Sept. 1 in Bali. The tournament would also serve as the qualifying round for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
The tournament also saw the Chinese women shuttlers dominate.
Junior shuttler Gong Zhichao will meet her senior and Ye Zhaoying in Sunday's final.
Third-seeded Gong had no difficulty in overcoming giant-killer Kanako Yonekura of Japan 11-3, 11-9. Yonekura, the 1998 Asian Games gold medalist, shocked badminton fans by defeating top seed and 1999 World Champion Camilla Martin in the third round.
World No. 2 Ye had to play a rubber set before eliminating another Japanese Yasuko Mizui 5-11, 11-2, 11-8.
World top pair Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min of South Korea defeated third-seeded Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen of Denmark 15-4, 15-8 in the final on Saturday to win the mixed doubles title. (ivy)
Results
Men's singles semifinals: Hariyanto Arbi (Ina) bt Hendrawan (Ina) 4-15, 15-11, 15-10; Taufik Hidayat (Ina) bt Peter Gade Christensen (Den) 14-17, 15-13, 15-10
Women's singles semifinals: Gong Zhichao (Chn) bt Kanako Yonekura (Jpn) 11-3, 11-9; Ye Zhaoying (Chn) bt Yasuko Mizui (Jpn) 5-11, 11-2, 11-8
Mixed doubles final: Kim Dong-moon/Ra Kyng-min (Kor) bt Michael Sogaard/Rikke Olsen (Den) 15-4, 15-8