YONEX-SUNRISE HONG KONG OPEN 2009 - Rise of the new generation?
News 9:42 AM
The duo of Pia Zebadiah Bernadet/Fran Kurniawan and Hayom Rumbaka stunned their opponents to enter their first ever Super Series quarter finals. The emergence of a new generation?
He may have been hitting and jump smashing his heart out during the whole match, the highest of all jumps was the one Fran Kurniawan made when he and partner Pia Zebadiah Bernadet finally beat the reigning Olympic champions Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung.
An impressive performance for the duo who have only been playing as a pair for 6 months, since the Vietnam satellite tournament, where they lost in the final against their compatriots Ahmad and Dili. A first hint of their worth was when they pushed the Olympic bronze Medalist, He Hanbin-Yu Yang, to three games in the Philippine Open. 
A bigger hint was certainly given in the Queen Elisabeth Stadium on Thursday for the opening session of the second round, where they gave an impressive performance.
If Lee Yong Dae was more efficient from the back than Fran throughout the first game, it was Pia who made the difference at the net, pushing Lee Hyo Jung to make mistakes she isn’t used to, and after leading 18/15, the Indonesian duo took the first game 21/19.
A first surprise. It wasn’t to be the last one for the Koreans, who lost focus few minutes after the beginning of the second game, when their opponents were hitting harder and putting more pressure on them. As a result, the Koreans trailed 5/14. It looked like it was then a done deal but the famous “fear to win” must have hit the Indonesian duo, who lost all their means and started committing terrible mistakes.
That was enough for Yong Dae and Hyo Jung to score no less than 9 points in a row and draw level with their younger opponents at 14/14. Then again, leading 18/16, Fran and Bernadet saw the Olympic champions pass them at 19/18.
The Indonesian coaches were then holding their heads in despair while the whole stadium thought that the most experienced Koreans would then take it away. But it wasn’t meant to be. “We got really nervous when we were ahead in the second game and we committed mistakes. We could feel a lot of pressure suddenly. But then, when we caught back at 19/19, the pressure was all gone. We realized that we should give it all then because if they had won the second game, it would have then been very difficult” said a Pia.
And the Indonesians kept their focus while oddly enough, Yong Dae and Hyo Jung didn’t play well the last points of the match, the former taking the net and seeming too eager to put pressure on their opponents. One mistake and one kill from Kurniawan and the Indonesians had written history for their young career, entering their first Super Series quarter-final with an Olympic scalp en route.
“It’s a great feeling” said Zebadiah. “I had switched to mixed double because the game suited me better. And today, I’m glad I made the change,” said the 20 year old girl, who played the 2009 Swiss Open in Singles for her last competition without a partner.
Is Hayom Rumbaka the new Jewel
Just like it was a practice match, playing very relaxed in spite of being in the centre court, few metres away from Bao Chunlai whom he is to play next.
After Taufik, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Simon Santoso, Hayom could make a name for himself. Originally from
“I never thought that I would take badminton as my profession. My dream in the beginning was to enter the Air Force. For me, it was a manly job because you have to take part in the war in order to protect the country,” he laughs. “But since playing for Djarum, I have realized that my life is for badminton now”.
A good choice obviously as he has since won three tournaments in Romania, Australia and in a home satellite tournament and looks like a real threat to Bao Chunlai on Friday. His dream would probably to have a rematch against his idol in the final, Taufik Hidayat
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:42 AM.
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