Top shuttlers clear hiccups for second wins
Top shuttlers clear hiccups for second wins
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian men's shuttlers received another
scare en route to scoring their second successive wins in the
World Cup badminton championships here yesterday.
Top seed Ardy B. Wiranata and Joko Suprianto both made a late
comeback to defy tough challenges from their European rivals.
Ardy scraped to a 14-15, 15-6, 15-12 win over Jens Olsson of
Sweden, while Joko struggled to beat Jeroen van Dijk of the
Netherlands 11-15, 15-5, 15-4.
In a very different style, Olympic gold medalist Alan
Budikusuma took only 30 minutes to crush Ahn Jae-chang of South
Korea 15-2, 15-0.
The three Indonesian men now need one more win in their
respective groups to qualify for Saturday's semifinals.
Ardy's unimpressive start against Olsson reminded his fanatic
fans of his opening match on Wednesday, with the Indonesian on
the receiving end of a string of nose-dive smashes drilled by the
towering Swede.
Olsson, who used a squash-like racket, quickly raced to a 9-2
lead before Ardy pulled level at 10-10. Ardy slowed down the
pace, only to let Olsson regain his attacking style. The Swede
played a gamble by refusing a deuce twice as Ardy came closer,
and it paid off.
Ardy maintained his superb defense in the second set while he
waited for Olsson to tally unforced errors. It took Ardy no
longer than 10 minutes to force a decider.
The match appeared to be over when Ardy made Olsson run for a
match point at 14-6. But Ardy lost his temper, hitting every
return wide to allow Olsson to scoop six points in a row. It was
Olsson's netted drive which helped Ardy close the exhausting
match.
"I don't know why I dropped the first set and I did not intend
to do so. Olsson came charging so quickly that I lost momentum,"
Ardy, who now leads Olsson 3-2, said. He denied that preparations
for his wedding next month had affected his performance.
Joko also looked troubled with a lanky opponent who leapt into
the air frequently for devastating smashes. He produced a superb
comeback in final minutes, but it was not enough to stop van Dijk
from taking the opening set.
But the next two sets showed who was the boss, with Joko
toying with the Dutchman for a number of brilliant winners.
Playing before a cheering crowd, Joko forced exhausting rallies
before punishing van Dijk with his jumping smashes.
"I was too afraid of taking the initiative after several
abortive attempts," Joko said.
Joko, winner in 1992, entered the invitational tournament as a
replacement for injured defending champion Hariyanto Arbi. "But
I'm not just a substitute. I'm trying to pave the way for my team
to secure the men's singles crown first, and after that to prove
that I'm still a good player," he said.
Joko will play South Korean Kim Hak-kyun, who beat Lee Mie
Chow of Chinese Taipei 15-8, 15-11 yesterday, for a place in the
semifinals. Ardy meets Fung Permadi and Alan plays Dong Jiong of
China.
In the women's singles, Uber Cup heroine Mia Audina needed
even less time to see off another South Korean, Lee Joo-hyun, 11-
0, 11-3.
In another women's singles match, Yuliani Sentosa had little
trouble defeating Hisako Mizui of Japan 11-7, 11-6. (amd)
Selected results
Men's singles
Alan Budi Kusuma (Ina) bt Ahn Jae-chang (Kor) 15-2 15-10
Cheng Gang (Chn) bt Lee Kwan-jin (Kor) 15-2 15-8
Ong Ewe Hock (Mal) bt Fung Permadi (Tpe) 15-12 15-7
Ardy B Wiranata (Ina) bt Jens Olson (Swe) 14-15 15-6 15-12
Kim Hak-kyun (Kor) bt Lee Mie Chow (Tpe) 15-8 15-11
Dong Jiong (Chn) bt Peter Rasmussen (Den) 15-12 15-2
Joko Suprianto (Ina) bt Jeroen van Dijk (Ned) 11-15 15-5 15-4
Rashed Sidek (Mal) bt Tomas Johansson (Swe) 15-12 15-5
Women's singles
Mia Audina (Ina) bt Lee Jong-hyun (Kor) 11-0 11-3
Yuliani Sentosa (Ina) bt Hisako Mizui (Jpn) 11-7 11-6
Kim Hyi-hyun (Kor) bt Yasuko Mizui (Jpn) 11-3 2-11 11-5
Mixed doubles
Flandy Limpele/Riseu Rosalina (Ina) bt Jan-Eric Antonsson/Astrid
Carbo (Swe) 7-15 15-12 16-15