Unknown Thai upsets Lidya for women's singles gold

Unknown Thai upsets Lidya for women's singles gold

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Indonesian badminton team missed the target
of winning five gold medals at the 21st Southeast Asian Games
after Lidya Djaelawidjaya suffered a shock defeat in the women's
singles final on Saturday.

Thailand's Sujitra Ekmongkolpaisarn pulled off the upset win
over top seeded Lidya, who succumbed 11-8, 11-7 in the see-saw
match at Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Lidya beat the Thai girl in the women's team final on Tuesday
11-7, 11-2.

"I want to show the people of Thailand that I finally made it.
I have been waiting for this moment for a long time," Sujitra
told reporters.

Against 23-year-old Sujitra, Lidya kept the tempo up in the
early stages to go four points clear. But the Thai began to mix
up lobs, flicks and soft drop shots to unbalance the Indonesian,
drawing even to 5-5 and again to 7-7 before finishing the set.

The second game was a carbon copy, with Sujitra going down 1-4
before clawing her way back from 6-7 in gritty net warfare,
winning five straight points and the gold.

Indonesia secured two gold medals through all-Indonesian
finals in the men's doubles and mixed doubles and added one in
the women's doubles.

But it took Indonesian women's doubles team of Deyana Lomban
and Vita Marissa over an hour of tight competition to douse the
fire of home favorites Lim Pek Siah and Ang Li Peng, whom they
beat 15-5, 4-15, 15-9.

Earlier, Vita and Nova Widhianto claimed the mixed doubles
gold medal, defeating their seniors Bambang Supriyanto and Emma
Ermawati.

Bambang and Emma took the first set easily with 15-3, but Vita
and Nova took the second with 15-7 to force a decisive third set
they finally won with 17-15.

Indonesia's world number two Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto
outlasted compatriots Tony Gunawan and Bambang Supriyanto in easy
straight sets 15-4, 15-6.

The men's singles crown went to home favorite Roslin Hashim,
who overcame a shaky start to tame Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana 17-
14, 15-3.

Boonsak, 19, who upset another Malaysian, Eng Ewe Hock, in the
first round, started strongly against Roslin and was ahead 8-2 in
the first game when the Malaysian's experience began to shine
through.

Roslin was also in the winning team that beat the Indonesian
men's team earlier this week ending Malaysia's 10-year drought of
team gold medals and 28-year drought of individual titles.

Indonesian team manager Christian Hadinata told reporters that
the final results augured that three leading badminton countries
would stand equal chances of winning gold medals in the next SEA
Games.

"Indonesia has to be very careful of shuttlers not only from
Malaysia, but from Thailand too. They have reached a similar
level to ours. Boonsak Polsana and Sujitra Ekmongkolpaisarn of
Thailand and Malaysian men's doubles team can be very dangerous,"
he said after the match.

"The competition was quite tight here. On the other hand, we
could not field our strongest squad due a ruling that limits the
number of entrants."

Asked whether the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI)
would send its young shuttlers to the Asian Games in Pusan, South
Korea, next year, Christian said it would be taken into
consideration. (nvn)