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