Dev S Sukumar/ badmintonmania.com
Hyderabad, 10 September 2005: It's going to be Sony Dwi Kuncoro against Kuan Beng Hong and Wang Chen versus Kaori Mori for the ABC singles throne.
On a day when three of the four singles matches were one-sided affairs, the most excitement was provided by the men's doubles semifinal between Hendra Gunawan/ Joko Riyadi and Lee Jae Jin and Jung Jae Sung. The match went into three games, with the winners being... no, we'll save that for later.
After Sony beat Ng Wei in straight games, young Malaysian Kuan Beng Hong took on Lee Hyun Il. It was a tight affair to begin with, but once the Malaysian stitched up the first game, he cruised through the second. Kuan started off attacking furiously, notching up a 6-2 lead before Lee made his presence felt. The Korean tried to slow down the pace, forcing three successive errors from the Malaysian, and came close at 8-9.
Hong retaliated with another fierce barrage; Lee could barely hang on as the Malaysian went up 11-8. Although he narrowed the gape to 11-12, his challenge was killed when Hong dived to retrieve an impossible shot at the net, and then rushed back to the baseline and fired a down-the-line winner. From then on the Korean was a passenger as Hong drilled point after point, and emerged a 15-11, 15-4 winner.
The all-Japanese women's semifinal between Mori and Hirose was expected to go the distance; they were familiar with each other's game and it was always going to be a couple of points that made the difference. Mori had a rather easy first game, winning 11-5, but then Hirose got going and won the second game just as easily. She continued in the same vein, going up 4-0 and 7-4 up with those wonderful crosscourt drops and hard smashes.
It seemed a matter of time before she closed the match; her game was flowing beautifully and Mori was shaking her head in desperation.
But the shift in momentum came again, just as mysteriously. Mori flung herself at every winner that Hirose threw at her, slowly she climbed back and equalled at 7, and a Hirose drop that found the net gave her an 8-7 lead.
Serve changed ends six times, Hirose equalled at 8, a long rally followed until Hirose made the critical error. Mori went 9-8 up but Hirose again equalled.
Another one-point lead for Mori, but then she misjudged a toss and then smashed wide to let her compatriot equal at 10-all. Three errors from Hirose -- unfortunately, her favourite cross court drop found the net at the most critical time -- gave Mori her entry into the final.
Gunawan-Riyadi fail:
Back to the men's doubles. Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan had made the final after a close bout with Tan Bin Shen and Ong Soon Hock of Malaysia. If Hendra Gunawan and Riyadi could do the same, Indonesia would have been assured of a gold. Alas, it was not to be. They will have to wait until tommorow to see if Setiawan and Kido can thwart Lee Jae Jin and Jung Jae Sung.
Gunawan and Riyadi were all over the Koreans to begin with, whipping them 15-8 in the opener. With Gunawan patrolling the back, and Riyadi nipping off anything near the net, the Indonesians looked on course to join their compatriots in the final.
The momentum swung dramatically the other way in the second game. The Koreans went up 5-0 and 10-5 thanks to some elementary errors from the Indonesians, who appeared to be recovering their energies. Lee and Jung smashed winners frequently on both flanks as Gunawan and Riyadi looked on, both hopelessly out of position.
Having broken serve at 12-8, both Indonesians promptly lost theirs -- Gunawan served short and Riyadi served wide. Lee and Jung needed no further invitation. The third game was even more of a mismatch as the Koreans went up a level higher. Despite flashes of brilliance from both the Indonesians, the Koreans were just too consistent today.
Indonesia's doubles woes were further compounded when Jo Novita and Greysia Poli were completely outmanoevered by the Japanese pair of Kumako Ogura and Reiko Shota. There was no doubt that their strategy was conceived by coach Park Joo Bong -- so meticulous and well-executed was it that the Indonesians stood no chance.
Novita and Poli had shocked favourites Saralee and Sathinee in the quarters, thanks to some big hitting by both of them. The Japanese, however, countered their attacking style by lifting everything to the baseline. Poli and Novita wore themselves out hitting smash after smash -- and everything kept coming back. The Japanese attack itself was sudden and unpredictable.
The Indonesians threw everything they had, and at times they did brilliantly. At 8-12 down in the first game came the rally of the match -- Poli and Novita smashed time after time; the shuttle kept coming back, and after about 30 strokes the Japanese made an error. Both teams got a standing ovation.
By the second game the Indonesians had wisened up to the tactics of their opponents, so they replied toss with toss. The rallies got more defensive, but both Ogura and Shota made lesser errors and played sharp on the big points to ease through during the final moments.
By the end of day's play, two Koreans had set themselves up in line for a double -- Lee Jae Jin and Lee Hyo Jung won their mixed doubles semifinal over Mohd Rizal and Endang Nursugianti. They will face the Thai pair of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee in the final. Lee Hyo Jung is also in the women's doubles final.
Sudket and Saralee destroyed Albertus Susanto and Li Wing. Sudket, spectacular with his huge jump smashes, and reminiscent of a Liem Swie King, gave the Hong Kong pair no chance. The Thais go into the final as favourites, especially since Lee Jae Jin and Lee Hyo Jung have their other doubles finals also to worry about.
Results: Semifinals:
MS: Sony Dwi Kuncoro bt Ng Wei; Kuan Beng Hong bt Lee Hyun Il 15-11, 15-4.
WS: Wang Chen bt Cheng Shao Chieh; Kaori Mori bt Eriko Hirose 11-5, 5-11, 13-10.
MD: Setiawan/ Markis Kido bt Tan Bin Shen/ Ong Soon Hock 15-13, 15-13; Lee Jae Jin/ Jung Jae Sung bt Hendra Gunawan/ Joko Riyadi 8-15, 15-8, 15-6.
WD: Ogura/ Shota bt Poli/ Novita 15-10, 15-4.
MXD: Sudket/ Saralee bt Albertus/ Li Wing; Lee Jae Jin/ Lee Hyo Jung bt Rizal/ Endang.
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