Young RI shuttlers stun top stars

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's young badminton players swept the singles titles at the Russian Open championships in Moscow over the weekend, the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) announced yesterday.

Hendrawan shocked All England champion Poul Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark 17-14, 15-11 to claim his first title of the year in a hard-fought final. His female compatriot, Lydia Djaelawidjaya, also won her maiden title after beating home favorite Elena Rbykhina.

The victory shot Hendrawan into the top 10 on the world grand prix rankings, moving four places ahead to number eight. Lydia, who surprisingly made it to the quarterfinals at the Indonesia Open last month, produced a more remarkable leap as she rose to number 10 from 17.

Indonesia paraded its second string players in the US$60,000 tournament, which concluded on Sunday, and managed to live up to its dominant status.

The young doubles team of Tony Gunawan and Rudy Widjaya scared world championship finalists Thomas Lund and Jon Holst Christensen of Denmark. The Danes dropped a set and were forced to flex their muscles before triumphing 15-8, 11-15, 17-14.

It was the first career appearance in the finals for Tony and Rudy, Indonesia's future hopefuls. Badminton enthusiasts started to turn their heads to the spirited pair when they toppled world champions and compatriots Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky in the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open.

China denied Russia a consolation win when Chen Ying and Peng Xingyong steamrolled Rybkhina and Marina Yakusheva for the women's doubles crown.

Meanwhile, Hermawan Susanto went atop of the grand prix rankings, thanks to his recent victory in the U.S. Open. He pushed downgraded compatriots Hariyanto Arbi and Ardy Wiranata to second and third place respectively.

Singapore Open champion Joko Suprianto was fourth, three places ahead of Olympic gold medalist Alan Budikusuma.

In the women's singles, Sweden's Lim Xiaoqing stretched her lead over her closest rival Susi Susanti of Indonesia. Lim collected 2,180 points despite her absence in the U.S. Open, leaving Susi trailing by 45 points.

South Korean Bang Soo-hyun lies in third place with 1,705. World champion and U.S. Open winner Ye Zhaoying of China was only fifth. (amd)