Three RI pairs to 2nd German round

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian led Indonesia's charge in the men's doubles in the opening round of the US$50,000 German Open badminton tournament in Duisburg, Germany, on Wednesday.

Flandy and Eng Hian, who suffered a third-round defeat at the Denmark Open last week, beat Rasmus Andersen and Peter Steffensen of Denmark 15-5, 15-7 at the Rhein-Rhur-Halle, according to www.worldbadminton.com.

Nova Widianto and Anggun Nugroho, and Luluk Hadiyanto and Alven Yulianto also went through to the second round, though they each needed three sets to send their opponents packing.

Nova and Anggun, who had to go through the qualifying stage, continued their winning form by felling South Korean fifth seeds Yim Bang-eun and Kim Yong-hyun 15-12, 6-15, 15-10 while Luluk and Alven beat Robert Blair and Simon Archer of England 15-13, 10-15, 15-13.

Luluk and Alven look set for another tough game against the Chinese pairing of Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun, who stopped Indonesia's Tri Kusharyanto and Sigit Budiarto 15-10, 17-15.

Another Indonesia-China tussle will be between Flandy and Eng Hian and Zhang Jun and Chen Qiqiu, while Nova and Anggun have Michal Logosz and Robert Mateusiak to tackle in the next stage.

The Indonesian team was to have played five pairs, but Candra Wijaya and Halim Haryanto canceled their participation because Candra is still nursing a hand injury sustained during the pair's loss to Ra Tae-kwon and Kim Dong-moon in the Denmark Open finals.

In the women's doubles, only Vita Marissa and Eny Widiowati, 15-7, 15-10 winners over local pair Sandra Marinello and Caren Hueckstaedtremain, remain after the exits of Jo Novita and Lita Nurlita, and Eny Erlangga and Lilyana Natsir.

Indonesia's two mixed pairs -- Nova Widianto and Vita Marissa, and Anggun Nugroho and Eny Widiowati -- also reached the second round after beating Robert Blair and Natalie 15-10, 15-8 and Thomas Tesche and Carina Mette 15-7, 15-5 respectively.

The Indonesian team is not playing in the singles as Taufik Hidayat, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Rony Agustinus returned home after their disappointing runs at the Denmark Open.