DJARUM INDONESIA OPEN – Lin Dan out, Taufik Hidayat still alive

There could not be a more dramatic ending to the match of the day than seeing the home favourite Taufik Hidayat beat the in form Dane Peter Gade after one hour and 12 minutes and a score of 22/20 in the decider.

Needless to say that the crowd was ecstatic to see their hero defeat Gade, who is a well known figure here in Jakarta, in such a wonderful showdown on the quarter finals night. The first game was already a delight with a suspenseful ending in favor of the Indonesian, who was in the lead – by one or two points –throughout the game. The second game saw Gade gear up and attack the shuttle very early in the rally. Taufik, obviously outpaced, gained only two points on his usual smashes, while the Dane scored eight points on his attacks down the line.

At one game all, the Indonesian had to get back on track and used the energy he had kept in the second. Apart from the first 4 points – won by Gade – it was the 2004 Olympic champion who kept ahead, while Gade was under pressure to catch and level up. The Indonesian took a 4 points lead at 11/7, but after the change of ends, the Dane got back to 11/11. Then 13/13. Then 17/17, 18/18, while the crowd was on the edge of their seats, shouting, dancing, singing, with all stairways packed with extra spectators - an amazing atmosphere.

Whilst Taufik’s wife was stressed out in the stands, her husband looked calm as usual on court, taking his time between rallies, to change the shuttles, walk around the court and concentrate. First, Taufik scored twice to get the first two match points, but the Dane is no man to let go and he fought back to square things at 20/20. The Dane then had the opportunity to kill a shuttle at the net but made a crucial mistake, giving one more chance for Taufik to end it. And the latter took it, clinching his ticket for the final of the event, 22/20, leaving Gade disappointed for coming so close to upsetting Taufik on home soil – something only a couple of shuttlers have been able to achieve in the past 8 years.

“Peter knows me well and he was able to counter my game in the second game as you could see. My coach Mulyo told me that I really had to fight hard if I wanted to win this match in the third game. I respect Peter a lot – he is my senior. Tomorrow, I will play Sony and I’m always sad to play my compatriots” said Taufik.

The Dane was rather positive about his loss. “It’s a good preparation for the World Championships. I was pleasantly surprised by how fit I was towards the end of the game, which means I’m well prepared physically for the Worlds. Had I won the first game, maybe I would have won the match because I was on the right side of the net in the second. But I got too impatient in the third game when I led 4/0. If I had been more patient, who knows...I made a mistake at 20/20 in the third. Badminton matches are sometimes a thin line, but this match was just fantastic. This is why we train all year long, to play matches like this. I hope to come back here next year for my last Indonesia Open” said Gade in a very fair play spirit in spite of having to leave the court helped with the security, as crazy fans had hoped to get a shirt or towel from the Dane as Fischer had done earlier.

Taufik will take on his compatriot Sony Dwi Kuncoro – the two men know each other very well and have each had their share of success over the other – while the other semi final will feature Chen Jin against Lee Chong Wei. The Malaysian had a quick victory over Park Sung Hwan, while Chen Jin stunned his compatriot Lin Dan in an uneven match. The Olympic champion was being his great self for two games, but then, lost it all with the third one, allowing Chen Jin to reach the semi final and important points towards the World Championships seeding spots. Chen won finally 18/21 – 21/17 – 21/4.

Saina Nehwal will be the only non Chinese involved in the semi finals of the Women’s singles event. The Indian had to face Hwang Hye Youn of Korea, for the first time in her career. “It’s funny that we never played each other in the 2 or 3 years we’ve both played in the Super Series” said Saina. “I knew she was a good runner so I was prepared for long rallies today” she added. Long rallies indeed, as the 19 year old Indian had to stay over 45 minutes on court, but the games were uneven. After another long match the previous night – won 21/19 in the decider against Juliane Schenk – Nehwal was hoping for a quicker set up, but Hwang played very well, especially in the second game which she won 21/13 after a poor show in the first one.

The last game saw Hwang in charge until 8/8, and it was then all Saina’s, much more comfortable anytime the rallies were lasting more than 10 strokes. The Indian finally took it home 21/15 in the decider and set herself a semi final meeting with Lu Lan, who beat Wang Yihan 22/20 in the decider.

“Today, my attacks were strong and she didn’t defend that well. And I saw that she was tired at the end so I just played the last four or five points without giving her any chance, just avoiding mistakes. Now, I am glad I will get to play Lu Lan instead of Wang Yihan, as I think Wang is much quicker and has had better wins than Lu lately”.

The other semi final will feature Xie Xingfang – who ended the amazing run from Japan’s Sato after saving one game point in the first game for a final 22/20 – 21/13 win, against her compatriot Wang Lin, who beat Indonesia’s Maria Febe Kusumati in straight and easy games.

Europe’s last chance to scoop gold will statistically be the mixed double event, with two Danish pairs left in the draw after quite an astonishing performance by Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl against China’s Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen. The Danes showed the kind of level they had when they had scooped their only title in 2008 – the most important one in the Super Series Finals in Kota Kinabalu. At that event, China was not represented, but today, in Jakarta, the versatile duo were just outstanding and beat the former world number ones 21/11 – 21/16. A few minutes later Joachim Fischer Nielsen, the left hander, and Christinna Pedersen were very close to losing to an upcoming Korean pair of Han and Nang. Losing the first game 20/22, the Danes had to keep focus in the over heated stadium, but somehow used the public at their advantage, with Fisher using the crowd, asking the 6000 people for help during rallies. It proved right, especially when they were down 8/13 in the second game. But they fought their way back and scooped the second game 21/17 and the third 21/16.

“We didn’t play good but it was still a good win for us, because we won even if we were not at our best. The public here was fantastic and I thought to myself if we were to win, I would give them my racket” said the expressive Dane after throwing not only his racket, but also his shirt in the public to celebrate.

For his partner Pedersen, it was an expected, but tough win. “We knew we’d have a good chance at making it to the semi finals as the Koreans are weaker than the Chinese He/Yu. But we had to be cautious because he’s very good and we didn’t know her as she’s quite new. We all played badly at the start with too many mistakes, but our motto is fighting so we gave it all and the crowd helped us as the match involving an Indonesian was just finished next court” said a delighted Pedersen after one of the longest match of the day with 1hour and 11 minutes.

They’ll have to play their best on Saturday as they take on another Korean pair – the Olympic Champions Lee and Lee, while Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter-Juhl play Zheng Bo and Ma Jin, who beat top seeds Widianto and Natsir 21/18 – 21/17.

The men’s double event should also see some exciting matches ahead, with Olympic champions Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan taking on Lee Young Dae and Jung Jae Sung for what promises to be a highlight for local supporters, while Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng will play Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, for another thriller.

The women’s double semi-final couldn’t be more logical as all four top seeds entered the last four spots available. Malaysia’s Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty played above par to beat Olympic Silver Medalists Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Kyong Won. The Malaysians will meet old rivals, Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Wen Hsing while the other semi final will be a show down between Korea’s Ha Jung Eun Kim Min Jung and Cheng Shu / Zhao Yunlie who avenged last week’s defeat against their compatriots Zhao Tingting and Zhang Yawen.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 11:46 AM. Filed under Indonesia Open, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0