Today
Jakarta
- 30 °C
Other Publications
Maria scores major upset at RI Open
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 05/11/2007 7:36 AM
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia crafted a major upset Thursday during the second round of the US$250,000 Djarum Indonesia Open Super Series at Senayan stadium in Jakarta, beating fourth seed Lu Lan of China 15-21, 21-16, 21-14 in the women's singles.
""I have studied Lu Lan's play and I know she is beatable. I just forced her to play rallies,"" said Maria. ""She tends to make unforced errors in long rallies.""
Maria also hailed the rowdy home crowd for giving her a lift during the match.
""My focus now is to reach the semifinals.""
Coach Hendrawan, who has trained Maria for the past two years, said Maria showed she has the mental toughness to win big matches.
""Her problem is she sometimes lacks self-confidence,"" said the 2001 world champion.
In the men's singles, defending champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, eying a record seventh title here, was pushed during his match with last week's Singapore Open winner Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, before securing a 21-14, 20-22, 21-14 victory.
""I won the first game easily but got carried away by his rhythm in the second,"" said the Asian champion.
Taufik said he had ""a very strong motivation"" to win the title here for the seventh time. ""This is an individual event and we have to think about our own performance.""
""Taufik did not play his best today but he was still very good on the net and smash,"" said Ponsana.
Taufik will now face fellow Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in Friday's quarterfinals. Sony beat Chan Yan Kit of Hong Kong 21-18, 21-12 on Thursday.
""Taufik wants to win his seventh title. Well, I have never won the Indonesia Open and I want it badly. This title is important for me to regain my self-confidence in other events,"" Sony said.
Sony said his play has improved under the tutelage of Hendrawan.
""My coach has a good personal approach with his athletes. He also gives me more of a chance to explore my skills and encourages me to take risks on critical points,"" he said.
Thursday saw another major upset, with women's singles top seed Xie Xinfang of China falling to Cheng Shao-Chieh of Chinese Taipei 21-18, 21-16.
""I was a bit tired after playing in Singapore. Two weeks playing in tropical countries made me exhausted,"" Xie said. ""My opponent also played very good, while I found it difficult to control the shuttlecock.""
In the men's doubles, Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto of Indonesia lost to Asian champions Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah of Malaysia 21-17, 21-16.
""It was hard for us to get our touch from the start of the game. In the second game, we tried to attack more but the Malaysians kept controlling the game,"" said Alvent.
Malaysia's coach Rexy Mainaky said the Indonesians, especially Luluk, were not on their top form, and appeared to be tense and lacking in confidence.
""I told my players to put on the pressure, especially on Luluk, who kept making unforced errors. It worked,"" he said.
