Setting out: Lin Dan of China returns the shuttlecock to Andre Kurniawan Tedjono of Indonesia during their first round match at the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton championship in Jakarta on Wednesday. Lin Dan won 21-13, 22-20. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
Just three days after celebrating victory in Singapore, top-seed Zhou Mi crashed out of the Indonesia Open after suffering a shock loss in the opening round.
Zhou Mi, from Hong Kong, went down to Japan’s Sayaka Sato in the women’s singles category 21-11, 16-21, 21-19 in 43 minutes in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Maria Febe Kusumastuti from Indonesia also sprung a surprise by defeating fifth seed Pi Hongyan from France 24-22, 6-21, 21-15. However, other top seeded players cleared their opening hurdles.
Second seed Wang Yihan and third seed Wang Lin, both from China, were too strong for their opponents.
Wang Yihan notched up a 21-14, 21-15 win over Judith Meulendijks from the Netherlands while Wang Lin defeated Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand 21-15, 21-17.
Fourth seed Wang Chen from Hong Kong and eight seed Xie Xingfang from China advanced to the next round after defeating Indonesian hopefuls.
Wang Chen eased past Maria Elfira Christina 21-12, 21-15 while Xingfang had more of fight against Maria Kristin Yulianti 21-17, 23-21. Indonesia still has anther contender with Adriyanti Firdasari, who booked a 21-14, 21-16 win over Yao Jie from the Netherlands.
However, all eyes were on 18-year-old Sato — ranked 61st in the world — who will continue to the next round after beating Zhou Mi.
“After the match, I could not believe I beat Zhou Mi, the top-ranked player,” Sato said through an interpreter at the post-match media conference at the Istora Sports Hall.
Zhou Mi, who played for China before switching to Hong Kong in 2007, praised her younger opponent.
“Sato indeed played really well today. I regret that I did not perform as well.”
Zhou Mi, 30, blamed fatigue from the recent Singapore Open for her poor form. At the Singapore tournament, she claimed she was distracted by a draught inside the court, the bright lights and disruptive audience.
The world No. 2 still took first place in the tournament after defeating Xingfang in the finals.
In the men’s singles, most Indonesian shuttlers made it through. In a gruelling 53-minute tussle, fourth seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro managed to defeat Indian Anand Pawar 21-15, 13-21, 21-18, while eighth seed Simon Santoso clinched victory over Danish Jan O Jorgensen 16-21, 21-8, 21-19. Fifth seed Taufik Hidayat crushed Andrew Smith from England 21-10, 21-15.
In the mixed doubles, top seeds Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir encountered difficulties in the opening minutes against Taiwanese pair Wang Chia Min and Wang Pei Rong before defeating them 22-20, 21-13. Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa will also move on to the next round after beating Malaysian duo Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Wong Pei Tty by 21-19, 21-16. Hendra, who paired with Alvent Yulianto in the men’s doubles, also reached the second round with a 16-21, 21-18, 21-17 win over eighth seeds Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah of Malaysia.
Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan carried Indonesia’s hopes in the men’s doubles. The world No 1 pair easily cruised to the next stage after thumping Michael Fuchs and Ingo Kindervater from Germany 21-10, 21-14 in just 20 minutes, but seventh seeds Mohammad Aksan and Bona Septano crashed out.
Despite starting well, they sacrificed the next two rounds to the English pairing of Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson 21-15, 16-21, 10-21. The English pair were surprise champions in Singapore, beating Kido and Hendra.
