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