Two finals berths for RI shuttlers in Manila tourney

Two finals berths for RI shuttlers in Manila tourney

JAKARTA (JP): Making amends for their poor results in the
singles events, Indonesian shuttlers showed their domination in
doubles by placing eight pairs in the semifinals of the
US$150,000 JVC Asian Badminton Championships in Manila.

Four of the pairs, two in the men's doubles and another two in
the mixed doubles, lined up an all-Indonesian affair, meaning
that Indonesia has already secured a final berth in each of the
events.

Men's doubles second stringers Hendra A. Gunawan and Alven
Yulianto will take on their senior compatriots Bambang Suprianto
and Tri Kusheryanto for a place in Sunday's final.

Hendra and Alven came from behind to defeat Hong Chieng Hun
and Chang Kim of Malaysia 12-15, 15-11, 17-15 while Bambang and
Tri were too powerful for Chinese Zheng Bo and Sang Yang, whom
they beat with 15-5, 15-8.

Top seeds and Sydney Olympic gold medalists Candra Wijaya and
Tony Gunawan will battle for another final berth against China's
unheralded partnership of Chen Rui and Wang Wei.

Candra and Tony defeated Japanese Norio Imai and Hiroshi
Ohyama 15-7, 15-11, while the Chinese beat Malaysians Jeremy Gan
and Ng Kean Kok 15-9, 17-14.

On paper, Candra and Tony are favored to land Indonesia's
fifth men's doubles title in as many tournaments.

Indonesian pairs also dominated the mixed doubles event,
having three pairs in contention for final berths.

Second seeds Bambang and Minarti Timur set a date with
Indonesia Open winners Tri Kusheryanto and Emma Ermawati in one
of the semifinal matches to be played on Saturday.

Tri and Emma outgunned Chien Yu Hsun and Cheng Wen Hsing 15-8,
15-9 and Bambang and Minarti stopped Chinese Zheng Bao and Zhang
Yawen.

In the other semifinal, top seeds Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-
min of South Korea will face Indonesia's makeshift pair of Tony
Gunawan and Vita Marissa.

Kim and Ra reached the semis after Njoto Susanto and Wang Chen
of Hong Kong retired, with the Koreans taking the first set 15-7
and leading 5-2 in the second.

Tony and Vita beat Cheng Rui and Huang Sui of China 15-11, 15-
10.

Meanwhile, it will be a Chinese-Indonesian affair in the
women's doubles semifinals.

Top seeds Gao Ling and Huang Sui of China are expected to face
no difficulty in disposing of Indonesian second-stringers Eny
Erlangga and Novita for a finals berth.

Gao and Huang had an easy 15-10, 15-0 win over Indonesia's
Rossi Riani and Diah Novita in Friday's quarterfinals, which also
saw Eny and Novita beat Japanese pair Shizuka Yamamoto and Seiko
Yamada 15-10, 15-13.

Second seeds Deyana Lomban and Vita Marissa of Indonesia are
likely to be engaged in a hard-fought match against Zhao Tingting
and Zhang Yawen in the other semifinal.

Zhao and Zhang dropped the first game before overcoming Cheng
and Chien 6-15, 15-5, 15-1. Meanwhile, Deyana and Vita came
through an easier challenge, with a 15-2, 15-13 win over Japan's
Megumi Oniike and Kaori Mori.

Junior shuttler Lin Dan of China cruised to the men's singles
semifinals and will meet Shong Seung-mo of South Korea, while
World Grand Prix champion Xia Xuanze will face Indonesian-born
Indra Wijaya who is playing for Singapore.

It's China against Hong Kong in the women's singles, with top
seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong playing Dong Fang and Chinese second
seed Zhang Ning facing Ling Wan Ting. (nvn)