Two Indonesian pairs move into finals, Hendrawan survives
Two Indonesian pairs move into finals, Hendrawan survives
By Primastuti Handayani
SYDNEY (JP): Hendrawan kept Indonesia's hopes of winning the
badminton men's singles title in the 2000 Olympic Games alive
after he edged out world champion Sun Jun of China 15-13, 15-5 on
Wednesday for a place in the semifinals.
The win made up for the shock defeat of top seed Taufik
Hidayat, who was sent packing by Chinese Ji Xinpeng 12-15, 5-15
in another quarterfinal.
Indonesia's other player in the men's singles quarterfinals,
Marlev Mainaky, bowed out to third seed Peter Gade Christensen of
Denmark 6-15, 6-15.
Indonesia still has a chance to win gold medals in the men's
doubles and mixed doubles with world number one pair Candra
Wijaya and Tony Gunawan and the duo Tri Kusharjanto and Minarti
Timur respectively.
Candra and Tony disposed of world champions Kim Dong-moon and
Ha Tae-kwon of South Korea 15-13, 15-10, a sweet revenge for
their defeat in the World Championships quarterfinals last year.
Mixed doubles top seeds Tri and Minarti came from one set and
1-10 down to deny Simon Archer and Joanne Goode of England the
gold medal with a 2-15, 17-15, 15-11 win.
The 28-year-old Hendrawan had a close match in the first game
with both shuttlers on 9-9. Sun took the lead 13-10 before a cool
Hendrawan overhauled the Chinese player by winning five straight
points to close the set.
In the second game, the Indonesian raced to a 10-0 lead before
Sun offered a late fightback, which was never enough to stop
Hendrawan from victory.
"I am not distracted by the defeats suffered by my friends
because I have had good preparation. I am very confident with my
physical condition and I won't have any problems playing long
rallies or rubber sets," he said after the match.
Chinese head coach Li Yongbo said although Sun has recovered
from the ankle injury he suffered during the Thomas Cup
qualification in New Delhi in February, his physical condition
has yet to reach its best form.
"Hopefully, our young players will be able to take the gold
medal back home," said the former doubles shuttler.
Hendrawan will meet All England winner Xia Xuanze of China,
who defeated Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia 17-15, 15-9. Another
semifinals will feature Gade Christensen against Ji.
While Taufik, who declined to show up at the press conference,
told Indonesian reporters that he was already fed up with the
Olympic atmosphere.
"We have been staying here for quite sometime and it makes me
feel tired, not physically but mentally," said the 19-year-old
player.
In the men's doubles, Tony and Candra played confidently
against Kim and Ha in the see-saw match lasting 31 minutes. Both
teams were locked at 12-12 in the first set before Tony and
Candra stepped up attacks to seal the game.
In the second game, Tony and Candra led 12-5 thanks to
unforced errors made by the Koreans. But the Indonesians, aiming
to retain the men's doubles gold medal, concluded the match 15-
10.
Indonesia won its sole gold in 1996 thanks to men's duo Ricky
Subagja and Rexy Mainaky.
"Competing in the Olympics does not require technical skills
as much as mental readiness. We must be prepared and aggressive
in our playing and never allow our contenders to take control,"
Tony said.
Lee and Yoo buried Malaysia's dream to repeat the success of
1996 by reaching the final. Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah had
to bow out to Lee and Yoo 12-15, 15-7, 4-15.
However, it was Tri and Minarti, who will retire after the
Olympics, who stole the show.
"We simply focused on avoiding unnecessary mistakes when we
were down in the second game. When we trailed 8-12, we played
more relaxed and set up a new strategy," Tri said.
Tri and Minarti will meet Zhang Jun and Gao Ling of China, who
beat Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen of Denmark 10-15, 15-6, 17-
16.
"We won twice against the Chinese in the Japan and Malaysia
Open this year. But we don't want to be over confident," Tri
added.
The men's and mixed doubles finals will take place Thursday.
By Primastuti Handayani
SYDNEY (JP): Hendrawan kept Indonesia's hopes of winning the
badminton men's singles title in the 2000 Olympic Games alive
after he edged out world champion Sun Jun of China 15-13, 15-5 on
Wednesday for a place in the semifinals.
The win made up for the shock defeat of top seed Taufik
Hidayat, who was sent packing by Chinese Ji Xinpeng 12-15, 5-15
in another quarterfinal.
Indonesia's other player in the men's singles quarterfinals,
Marlev Mainaky, bowed out to third seed Peter Gade Christensen of
Denmark 6-15, 6-15.
Indonesia still has a chance to win gold medals in the men's
doubles and mixed doubles with world number one pair Candra
Wijaya and Tony Gunawan and the duo Tri Kusharjanto and Minarti
Timur respectively.
Candra and Tony disposed of world champions Kim Dong-moon and
Ha Tae-kwon of South Korea 15-13, 15-10, a sweet revenge for
their defeat in the World Championships quarterfinals last year.
Mixed doubles top seeds Tri and Minarti came from one set and
1-10 down to deny Simon Archer and Joanne Goode of England the
gold medal with a 2-15, 17-15, 15-11 win.
The 28-year-old Hendrawan had a close match in the first game
with both shuttlers on 9-9. Sun took the lead 13-10 before a cool
Hendrawan overhauled the Chinese player by winning five straight
points to close the set.
In the second game, the Indonesian raced to a 10-0 lead before
Sun offered a late fightback, which was never enough to stop
Hendrawan from victory.
"I am not distracted by the defeats suffered by my friends
because I have had good preparation. I am very confident with my
physical condition and I won't have any problems playing long
rallies or rubber sets," he said after the match.
Chinese head coach Li Yongbo said although Sun has recovered
from the ankle injury he suffered during the Thomas Cup
qualification in New Delhi in February, his physical condition
has yet to reach its best form.
"Hopefully, our young players will be able to take the gold
medal back home," said the former doubles shuttler.
Hendrawan will meet All England winner Xia Xuanze of China,
who defeated Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia 17-15, 15-9. Another
semifinals will feature Gade Christensen against Ji.
While Taufik, who declined to show up at the press conference,
told Indonesian reporters that he was already fed up with the
Olympic atmosphere.
"We have been staying here for quite sometime and it makes me
feel tired, not physically but mentally," said the 19-year-old
player.
In the men's doubles, Tony and Candra played confidently
against Kim and Ha in the see-saw match lasting 31 minutes. Both
teams were locked at 12-12 in the first set before Tony and
Candra stepped up attacks to seal the game.
In the second game, Tony and Candra led 12-5 thanks to
unforced errors made by the Koreans. But the Indonesians, aiming
to retain the men's doubles gold medal, concluded the match 15-
10.
Indonesia won its sole gold in 1996 thanks to men's duo Ricky
Subagja and Rexy Mainaky.
"Competing in the Olympics does not require technical skills
as much as mental readiness. We must be prepared and aggressive
in our playing and never allow our contenders to take control,"
Tony said.
Lee and Yoo buried Malaysia's dream to repeat the success of
1996 by reaching the final. Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah had
to bow out to Lee and Yoo 12-15, 15-7, 4-15.
However, it was Tri and Minarti, who will retire after the
Olympics, who stole the show.
"We simply focused on avoiding unnecessary mistakes when we
were down in the second game. When we trailed 8-12, we played
more relaxed and set up a new strategy," Tri said.
Tri and Minarti will meet Zhang Jun and Gao Ling of China, who
beat Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen of Denmark 10-15, 15-6, 17-
16.
"We won twice against the Chinese in the Japan and Malaysia
Open this year. But we don't want to be over confident," Tri
added.
The men's and mixed doubles finals will take place Thursday.