Live from Hyd: Sony is king of ABC

Dev S Sukumar/ badmintonmania.com

Hyderabad, 11 September 2005:
Indonesia can celebrate. Two golds out of the five at stake isn't bad: Sony Dwi Kuncoro and the men's doubles team of Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan returned with top honours to cap a satisfying tournament for Indonesia.

Three countries shared the other three titles. Hong Kong's Wang Chen was expected to win the women's singles and so she did with minimum fuss; Korea's Lee Kyung Won and Lee Hyo Jung weathered a Japanese storm to take the women's doubles gold; while Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thounghthongkam broke Korea's heart in the mixed doubles.

The mixed doubles final, scheduled first on Sunday, was the only nail-biting contest. Sudket was flamboyant as usual, leaping at the back and executing murderous winners; Lee Jae Jin was not far behind; while Saralee and Lee Hyo Jung patrolled the net, jumping at any shuttle that dared rise an inch above the net cord.

The Koreans, having lost the first game at 11 but equalling with a second game win at 17-14, fell slightly behind at 7-12 in the decider. But Jae Jin powered his team on, smashing powerfully to come close at 10-12. It was touch-and-go, but luck favoured the Thais as Saralee's drive fell over after tipping the net cord.

The Thai girl consolidated the advantage, attacking the net, returning everything the Koreans hit at her, and finally nailed a winner. At 10-13 the Koreans still had a chance, but Jae Jin netted his return and the Thais had match point. Ironically, he again netted a drive to hand the match to Sudket and Saralee.

Poor Lee Jae Jin. Playing in two finals this evening, he lost both -- the second, in the company of Jung Jae Sung. His mixed doubles partner, Lee Hyo Jung, however had the satisfaction of taking home a gold in the women's doubles.

Kuncoro, Wang Chen reign:
Both the singles finals were one-sided. Kuan Beng Hong of Malaysia started well, running up a 6-1 lead, but that lasted only until the Indonesian found his rhythm. He leapt at anything that seemed hittable, bringing those vicious crosscourt jump smashes into play, and totally overwhelming the Malaysian. A beautiful slow drop gave him 8-6, while two jump smashes saw him at 11-6. Kuan was being blown away, and the only points that came his way were errors by the Olympic bronze medallist. Occasionally he produced a beauty himself -- a counter dribble that foxed Sony was the highlight of his performance -- but these were too few to bother the Indonesian.

Unlike his semifinal performance against Lee Hyun Il, where he had produced several devastating smashes, Kuan looked tame. The difference, of course, was that Sony was keeping all the shuttles down, not giving the Malaysian the length or the height to smash. At times Sony did toss it into the air, challenging the Malaysian to hit, and he returned whatever thunderbolts Kuan sent down. With nothing else to offer, Kuan's challenge folded up meekly, much as Kaori Mori had against Wang Chen in the women's singles final.

Wang had some trouble in the opening game, but it was an error-strewn performance by both players, and the final never rose to a significant level. Both women seemed tight to begin with, and it was only towards the end of the game that Wang came into her own, leaving her Japanese rival flat-footed with those fabulous cross court drops that she has perfected. Mori tried to increase the pace in the second, but Wang was always a step ahead of her. On the few occasions that Mori broke her serve, she immediately broke back by attacking her rival's service. It was an imperious performance. If only the Chinese had participated, Wang might have shown more of her repertoire. As it was, she jogged through her competition, with only young Indian Aditi Mutatkar threatening to take a game off her in the second round.

"I was a little tight in the beginning," Wang Chen said. "I didn't come in with any particular strategy -- I tried to keep keep her at the back."

Kuncoro was a little bit more elaborate. "I was confident before the final because I have beaten Kuan twice already. I played loose, no tension. In the beginning I was in doubt, I was trying to adjust to his game, but then I attacked."

Asked what role coach Joko Suprianto had in his win, he said: "Joko told me to pressure him from the start, to not give him a chance to hit."

Korean women pip Japanese:
The women's doubles was a strange contest. Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Kyung Won seemed to have everything under control against Kumako Ogura and Reiko Shiota after a first game win, but then they fell back 2-10 in the second. Perhaps Hyo Jung was recovering from her efforts of the first match, the mixed doubles. The Koreans fought back to 8-12 in a single service game, but the Japanese recovered in time to take the next three points.

Whatever rhythm the Japanese had evaporated soon enough, as the Koreans ran away to an 8-1 lead, and Shiota and Ogura never looked like they could make it. Hyo Jung, with her fearsome presence at the net, and Kyung Won rattling in smashes from behind, destroyed whatever tactics the Japanese had worked out.

The final match of the day, the men's doubles, was particularly of interest to Indonesia because Jae Jin and Jae Sung had beaten favourites Hendra Gunawan and Joko Riyadi in the semifinals.

There were no blazing guns, no thundering smashes and diving retrievals. It was almost an anti-climax to an eagerly-awaited final. Few rallies in the first game went beyond four or five strokes. The Indonesians, aware of the destructive smashes on the other side, kept the shuttle down, exploring the angles and trying to outmanoevre the opposition.

It was a particularly effective ploy today by the Indonesians. Jae Jin had already played a tiring mixed doubles final, and he could not get any momentum. Both Setiawan and Kido played soft, resorting to big smashes in spurts, and drawing whatever sting the Koreans had. In such a game of quick exchanges, the Koreans were desperately short of momentum, and the Indonesians notched up point after point with seeming ease. The Koreans kept pace till 7-all in the first.

Their challenge totally fell apart in the second. Kido, erratic at times but brilliant otherwise, and Setiawan, consistent with the soft drops and playing close to the net, did everything right today to take a richly-deserved gold and trigger celebrations in the Indonesian camp.

Results:
MS: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Kuen Beng Hong (Mas) 15-10, 15-5.
WS: Wang Chen (Hkg) bt Kaori Mori (Jpn) 15-1115-7.
WD: Lee Kyung Won/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) bt Kumako Ogura/ Reiko Shiota (Jpn) 15-13, 8-15, 15-5.
MD: Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan (Ina) bt Lee Jae Jin/ Jung Jae Sung (Kor) 15-11, 15-7.
MXD: Sudket Prapakamol/ Saralee T (Tha) bt Lee Jae Jin/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) 15-11, 14-17, 15-10.