Taufik out at US Open Grand Prix Gold
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 07/15/2011 3:48 PM
Indonesian ace Taufik Hidayat exited the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton championship after losing to Marc Zwiebler in a quarterfinal match on Thursday (Friday Jakarta time).
Taufik, top seeded in the tournament, lost an easy 16-21, 15-21 as the unheralded sixth seed advanced to the semifinals.
The Athens Olympic gold medalist was under pressure from the start, trailing the dominant Zwiegler 2-4, 5-6 and 5-11. Taufik narrowed the gap to 12-13, but his opponent regained the upper hand to end the game 16-21.
In the second game, Zwiebler continued to dictate things, climbing to an 18-14 lead and finishing 21-15.
In the Badminton World Federation rankings released this week, Taufik sits at forth after Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, Lin Dan of China and Peter Hoeg Gade of Denmark. Zwiebler is 17th.
