DJARUM INDONESIA OPEN – Saina wins first, Taufik bows out

Lee Yong Dae of Korea, in his second appearance of the day, finally gave the crowd of young screaming girls what they wanted when he managed to win the men’s doubles title with partner Jung Jae Sung.

Super Sunday at Istora Senayan started with a much expected showdown between the in-form Zheng Bo - the only remaining 2008 champion to defend his title - and Ma Jin of China against Olympic champions Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Yong Dae of Korea. Both pairs, who had just met each other eight days earlier at the semi-final stage of the Singapore Open, offered a much tighter affair for the pro-Korean crowd.

The first game went to the Chinese 21-17 but the wind seemed to turn in the Korean’s favour in the second when Lee Hyo Jung started cutting off everything at the front of the court to score off an easy 21-8 win. Nevertheless, despite the huge crowd support for the Koreans, the Chinese once again showed that they were the hottest pair on the circuit and contained the Koeans’ attack to steal the match 21-17 8-21 21-16 for their second straight Super Series in as many weeks.

In the second encounter of the day, also a repeat of a match played just over a week ago in Singapore, the women’s singles was a battle of former junior world champions, namely Wang Lin of China and Saina Nehwal of India. Last week’s encounter between the two women finally went in the Chinese favour after a tough three-set encounter. Things seem to be once again in Wang’s favour after she easily grabbed the first set 21-12. An overly cautious and tentative Nehwal didn’t seem to be able to find her rhythm and many had written her off at that point. However, her strategy and patience slowly overcame Wang Lin’s more energetic play as the match progressed.

The crowd’s huge support in favour of the Indian clearly lifted her spirit up and helped her grab the second set 21-18. Panic and despair seemed to take over Wang’s mind and body when the Indian’s play became even more precise and compact in the rubber set. The 7-7 mark was the closest the Chinese would ever get to clinch the title as the Indian only left her opponent two more points before closing off the match 21-9 for the biggest win of her career in the last Super Series event before the World Championships in August.

‘I just can’t believe it’ the smiling Indian said after receiving her award in front of the supportive crowd. ‘I know it’s always a top fight to play against a top 10 player but I was really confident before the match. I have to thank the audience for their incredible support. The last four of five points were played in so much noise. This win is great for me not only because it’s my first Super Series title – and this, just a few weeks away for the World Championships in my hometown – but also because I had a very tough draw, having to beat such good players as Petya Nedeltcheva, Juliane Schenk, Hwang Hye Youn, Lu Lan and today Wang Lin. To be honest, I was scared before the game to play in front of such a big crowd so I started a bit nervously, not being able to concentrate properly.’

Under the watchful eye of coach Atik Jauhari, Saina Nehwal – the first Indian to win a major title since her coach Pullela Gopichand at the 2001 All England - went on to add: ‘Now, my victory is one more proof that non-Chinese players – like Tine Rasmussen and I - can win big titles and I think it’s good for the game. I also think India could become a great badminton nation but conditions are difficult in my country due to parent’s emphasizing the importance of studies over sports’.

Squeezed between the excitement of the women’s singles and the much expected men’s singles clash and despite the poor support from the spectators, the world number 1 pair of Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty of Malaysia nevertheless pulled off a very convincing win over world number two Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei of China. Obviously relieved to finally live up to their world number one ranking, the Malaysians pulled off their second Super Series title since the Denmark Open last October. In an event which has the reputation to offer the longest rallies, Chin and Wong nevertheless dispatched their opponents in two mirror sets of 21-16 in just 37 minutes.

Excitement was at its peak when world number one Lee Chong Wei and superstar Taufik Hidayat entered the stadium for their much awaited battle for the men’s singles title. The scene was set for a repeat of the incredible match between Hidayat and Gade two days prior but the magic never came. Unfortunately for the fans, Hidayat’s play was no match against Lee Chong Wei’s precise shots and energetic play. The Indonesian fell 9-21 14-21 to the Malaysian in what would be the shortest match of the day.

‘I have to admit that Lee seemed to be more ready for today’s match’, said Taufik after failing to win a seventh Indonesia Open title. ‘I’m of course a little bit disappointed with the result, being just one step away from another title but I failed. That’s the game: someone has to win and the other has to lose’, concluded Hidayat with an eye on fair play.

It had been four years since Lee Yong Dae of Korea lost two finals in one day and the teen heartthrob of badminton didn’t intend to let it happen again. After losing his first final in the mixed event, Lee was back on the court with partner Lee Jae Sung against Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China to gain their first Super Series title since their incredible four-straight title run at the end of last year.

The Koreans showed more mobility on court and easily outplayed their opponents 21-15 21-18. Jung, quickly followed by Lee, celebrated their victory by throwing their sweat-drenched t-shirts into the excited crowd.

“We felt so confident to win the title after what happened in the first set”, explained Lee. “Cai and Fu made more mistakes than we did and seemed very frustrated throughout the match. Still, Jae Sung had to calm me down today when I got upset after some bad line calls. Our semi-final match was tougher but we still had to come through today”, concluded the Korean.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 11:48 AM. Filed under Indonesia Open, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0