| |
CHECK
LATEST RESULTS AND NEWS
|
|
|
NEWS
|
Indonesian flag flying high
March 09, 2002 - Source : IBF
|
|
With the absence of Taufik Hidayat and World Champion Hendrawan, the Indonesian fans were probably counting on their men's doubles to get a spot in the finals of the All England.
They might have been disappointed by Sigit and Candra''s loss, but they will rejoice about another of their players: Budi Santoso went against the odds and qualified for the final of the singles event.
Santoso was only ranked 53rd when he entered the All England draw. He will probably be getting a lot of points and credit after his great performance on Saturday in the semi-final against young Chinese jewel Lin Dan. And it took a lot of nerves to win this match, as the young Chinese never let go, saving two match points in the third game before he eventually levelled up to two games all.
Yet the Indonesian kept patient, and waited for the right time to place his precise kills. A very steady, precise game. But it was probably his defense shots, who led him to win : Lin Dan, not used to see his powerful high jump smashes brought back on court lost patience. Especially during the first two games when he made many unforced errors. And again in the fifth. A lack of experience which will prevent from playing another top final after the Danishback in October.
On the other hand, Budi''s experience prevailed and he will be the real unexpected guest in the final. Santoso will meet Chen Hong, who destroyed another youngster - Bao Chunlai''s - dreams of qualifying for the final. After last year''s loss in the final of the same event, Chen will definitely try to get his hands on the US$10 000 prize money. He looked quite sharp today, more aggressive than during the previous rounds.
Sigit and Candra barely miss the final
For the last match of the day, Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya were playing against Ha Tae Kwon and Kim Dong Moon. And what a match! The expectations were not even close to the show all four men put on, with a thrilling ending.
Even if Candra and Sigit had been quite easily beaten by the Koreans in the first round of the World Championships last year, things were a little different this time: they were coming on court as the world number one pair, undisputed after the early retreat by Tony Gunawan. Undisputed until this Saturday.
In an extraordinarily quick start, the Indonesians won the first game 7/2, and led 6/3 in the second. But the Koreans started to get into the game, and the level of the match started rising from then on. The Koreans got back to win the second, and also the third game 8/7, in spite of the noisy cheers by the numerous Indonesians in the Arena.
Trailing 2/4 in the fourth, Sigit started pulling shots he only has the secret of. Behind his back, between his legs, bouncing everywhere for breathtaking rallies. Thanks to this incredible play by Sigit, helped with Candra''s good attacking game, the Indonesians managed to win the fourth one. However, things started to look bad for the top seeds, when the Koreans held such a perfect defence that they led 6/1.
Four match points later, the Indonesians were levelling up 6/6 in an incredible atmosphere. Saving another two match points at 6/7 (one saved by a cross court defence shot done by Sigit behind his back !), the Indonesians got even 7/7 on their first serve. Tension, pressure, luck and a tremendous play by the Koreans helped them get the service back, saving two match points. They wouldn''t miss another chance and scored on their 7th match point for a final 2/7 - 8/6 - 8/7 - 4/7 - 8/7 victory.
Kim and Ha (pictured) deserved to win, but so did Wijaya and Budiarto. But there is always a winner and a loser in sports, and Saturday, the odds were on the Korean’s side. They will now play against another Indonesian team, Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian. But the big difference this time is that the entire crowd of the NIA Arena will be cheering for them as they are playing under English flag.
Yet the Badminton Association of England has not yet decided to include them in their official team - a reason why the Indonesians'' shirts don''t mention England. Finn Traerup Hansen, England''s Performance director had made it clear to the English Newspaper The Times that they were to be considered as sparring partners only for the time being: “I could go out and buy a team good enough to win things, but what would that mean for England or badminton?” he said. It would have meant, however, that there would be an English pair in the All England semi-final, which isn''t the case this year, for the first time since 1988.
report and pictures by Raphael Sachetat |
|
|
|
Other news:
» Now Gopichand pulls out of Malaysian Open
» Xia, Martin have top billing at 2002 Malaysia Open
» Hafiz to take three-week break
|
|
|
Mail to friend
Printer Friendly
Back to Previous Page
