Tommy Sugiarto took a huge step forward by beating Lin Dan, one of the tournament'€™s favorites, in the opening round of the BCA Indonesian Open badminton championship at the Istora Senayan indoor stadium on Wednesday.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist from China looked disappointed as he refused to attend a press conference at the end of the match.

'€œHe is such a huge name in badminton. He is an Olympic gold medalist and world champion, but the situation is different now. I feel I'€™m better with stamina now,'€ Tommy said during a press conference.

The encounter unfolded according to pundits'€™ predictions as Lin Dan wrapped up the first game 21-19. Tommy, the 2013 Singapore Superseries champion, upped his game to take a 4-1 lead, with Lin Dan seemingly losing focus and making a string of unforced errors.

After the interval, Tommy widened the gap to 11-4 and eventually rounded it off to 21-8 to bring the match to a third game.

In the decider, Tommy continued his charge by taking an 8-0 lead, allowing his opponent only two points, when a break was called.

Only after the interval did multiple world championship winner Lin Dan finally recover his killing strokes to make it 14-16. By then, Tommy had been sent scouring the court for the shuttlecock as Lin Dan opted for long and high shots.

However, it was too little too late for Lin Dan as Tommy finally regained his composure to close the match 21-16.

Tommy has now reduced his head-to-head record with Lin Dan to 2-4.

While Lin Dan showed his disinclination for an interview, Tommy on the other hand beamed with pride and said the key to his win was his self-conviction.

 '€œWhen I first saw the draw, it hit me hard that I had to face Lin Dan in the opening round. Everybody was saying I would lose. But I'€™m glad to prove them wrong. Nobody will underestimate me now,'€ he said.

Tommy, who decided to withdraw from the national training camp held by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) earlier this year, said he was glad that he could prove his mettle in this tournament, despite limited facilities at his current club Pelita Bakrie.

'€œIn the national training camp, all facilities are available. Outside, it is really different. But that doesn'€™t discourage me. I'€™m glad I can still fight for Indonesia,'€ he said.

He complained about a lack of strong sparring partners at his club. '€œOnly in superseries tournaments I can find a proper sparring partner'€.

Jonatan Christie continued his winning form by defeating seventh seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-18, 21-19.

Indonesia had the chance to see another two singles players in the second round, with Anthony Ginting and Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka still playing Brice Leverdez and Xue Song until late on Wednesday.

In the women'€™s singles, Maria Febe Kusumastuti and Lindaweni Fanetri advanced to the second round but Adrianti Firdasari was stopped by Mitani Minatsu 21-18, 21-15. Maria defeated fellow Indonesian Ruselli Hartawan 21-19, 21-14 while Lindaweni sealed a 21-17, 21-11 win over Michelle Li of Canada.

A number of Indonesian women'€™s doubles pairs exited early, leaving only Greysia Polii/Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Keshya Nurvita Hanadia/Devi Tika Permatasari in contention.

Indonesia'€™s best hope in the men'€™s doubles, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, cleared its opening hurdle, beating Andrew Ellis/Peter Mills, 21-13, 21-13.

Another pair to reach second round was Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira/Ade Yusuf, which dispatched Vladimir Ivanov/Ovan Sozonov 21-15, 11-21, 21-16.

Gideon Markus Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo were also through, thumping Lin Chia Yu/Hsiao-Lin Wu 21-12, 21-14.

Five of eight Indonesian mixed pairs advanced to the second round, led by the country'€™s leading pair, Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir, which overcame Lee Chun Hei Reginald/ Chau Hoi Wah, 26-24, 21-14.

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