By Yuanto K.
It was a long day and I did watch a few matches at the QES.
First was the MD match between Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto and Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard Hansen. Me, fastdrop, and huangkwokhau were seated right at the second row near the court where Luluk/Alvent were playing. Later on, our big boss here kwun also came and joined us in watching Sony Dwi Kuncoro vs Yeoh Kay Bin.
The MD match was neck-to-neck in the first set, with Eriksen/Hansen making crucial service errors late in the game and that costed them the first set. They were making a strong charge early in the second game and led 8-2 before Luluk's turn to serve. His serves yielded 5 points and levelled the score at 8-8. Then, at 13-13, it was Luluk's turn to serve yet again and this time round, the INA pair managed to get 6 quick points to make it 19-13. The INA pair eventually sealed the match 21-19, 21-14. They have a big chance tomorrow against the tricky Polish pair Michal Logosz/Robert Mateusiak.
Up next in the same court was Sony Dwi Kuncoro vs Yeoh Kay Bin. The Malaysian player tried hard to match Sony, but, Sony proved to be too strong for him. Sony won quite comfortably in straight sets 21-17, 21-13 and will play Chen Jin tomorrow.
It was break time since there were no more INA players involved till 6pm. So, I went out to have an early dinner with Hendrawan. In the night session, there were 4 more matches, with 3 matches being played at 6pm and 6:45pm. When I got in, Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir already won the first set 21-6, but, the scores were pretty tight in the second set against Fang Chieh-Min/Cheng Wen-Hsing. I was quite impressed with Fang, with his powerful and effective smashes that won a number of points. The Chinese Taipei pair managed to force a rubber-set, winning the second set 23-21. The early stage of the third set was a tight affair too until the score was 8-8. Then, Nova/Butet upped the tempo and eventually won the set comfortably 21-13. The INA pair will face their nemesis Thomas Laybourn/ Kamilla Rytter-Juhl tomorrow. Remember, the Danish pair has beaten them twice recently, in the Chinese Taipei and French Opens.
Up next were Flandy Limpele/Vita Marissa vs Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama/Chau Hoi Wah and Jo Novita/Greysia Polii vs Wei Yili/Zhang Yawen. The WD match was predictable as Jo/Greysia lacked Wei/Zhang's skill and power. The first set was won easily by the Chinese pair. The INA pair improved in the second set and played some nice badminton, but, it was still not enough as they lost 10-21, 16-21.
The XD match turned out to be more like a practice match for the INA pair. They were not really giving their 100% and looked like saving their energy for the more important QF match tomorrow The Hong Kong pair was leading 18-16 in the first set before the INA pair stepped up a gear and won the last 5 points of the set. The second set was similar, with the INA pair contented on having a slender lead. The HKG pair nearly came close and managed to force a deuce at 20-20, but, it was not to be as the INA pair was way too experienced and they won it 21-16, 22-20. Flandy/Vita will face another Korean pair Lee Yong Dae/Lee Hyo Jung, who were impressive in beating Nathan Robertson/ Gail Emms in straight-sets.
The last match I watched was the MD match between Tadashi Ohtsuka/ Keita Masuda and Lee Jae Jin/Hwang Ji Man, together with Alvent, Kido and Hendra. The Japanese pair was much improved than the last time I watched them. They were actually leading 17-10 in the first set before Lee Jae Jin decided to retire due to injury. Later on, I saw the Korean player's foot heavily strapped with icepack. The Japanese pair will play Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan tomorrow. Should be a manageable match, but, the World Champion better don't underestimate their opponent.
(badminton-indonesia@yahoogroups.com)
It was a long day and I did watch a few matches at the QES.
First was the MD match between Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto and Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard Hansen. Me, fastdrop, and huangkwokhau were seated right at the second row near the court where Luluk/Alvent were playing. Later on, our big boss here kwun also came and joined us in watching Sony Dwi Kuncoro vs Yeoh Kay Bin.
The MD match was neck-to-neck in the first set, with Eriksen/Hansen making crucial service errors late in the game and that costed them the first set. They were making a strong charge early in the second game and led 8-2 before Luluk's turn to serve. His serves yielded 5 points and levelled the score at 8-8. Then, at 13-13, it was Luluk's turn to serve yet again and this time round, the INA pair managed to get 6 quick points to make it 19-13. The INA pair eventually sealed the match 21-19, 21-14. They have a big chance tomorrow against the tricky Polish pair Michal Logosz/Robert Mateusiak.
Up next in the same court was Sony Dwi Kuncoro vs Yeoh Kay Bin. The Malaysian player tried hard to match Sony, but, Sony proved to be too strong for him. Sony won quite comfortably in straight sets 21-17, 21-13 and will play Chen Jin tomorrow.
It was break time since there were no more INA players involved till 6pm. So, I went out to have an early dinner with Hendrawan. In the night session, there were 4 more matches, with 3 matches being played at 6pm and 6:45pm. When I got in, Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir already won the first set 21-6, but, the scores were pretty tight in the second set against Fang Chieh-Min/Cheng Wen-Hsing. I was quite impressed with Fang, with his powerful and effective smashes that won a number of points. The Chinese Taipei pair managed to force a rubber-set, winning the second set 23-21. The early stage of the third set was a tight affair too until the score was 8-8. Then, Nova/Butet upped the tempo and eventually won the set comfortably 21-13. The INA pair will face their nemesis Thomas Laybourn/ Kamilla Rytter-Juhl tomorrow. Remember, the Danish pair has beaten them twice recently, in the Chinese Taipei and French Opens.
Up next were Flandy Limpele/Vita Marissa vs Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama/Chau Hoi Wah and Jo Novita/Greysia Polii vs Wei Yili/Zhang Yawen. The WD match was predictable as Jo/Greysia lacked Wei/Zhang's skill and power. The first set was won easily by the Chinese pair. The INA pair improved in the second set and played some nice badminton, but, it was still not enough as they lost 10-21, 16-21.
The XD match turned out to be more like a practice match for the INA pair. They were not really giving their 100% and looked like saving their energy for the more important QF match tomorrow The Hong Kong pair was leading 18-16 in the first set before the INA pair stepped up a gear and won the last 5 points of the set. The second set was similar, with the INA pair contented on having a slender lead. The HKG pair nearly came close and managed to force a deuce at 20-20, but, it was not to be as the INA pair was way too experienced and they won it 21-16, 22-20. Flandy/Vita will face another Korean pair Lee Yong Dae/Lee Hyo Jung, who were impressive in beating Nathan Robertson/ Gail Emms in straight-sets.
The last match I watched was the MD match between Tadashi Ohtsuka/ Keita Masuda and Lee Jae Jin/Hwang Ji Man, together with Alvent, Kido and Hendra. The Japanese pair was much improved than the last time I watched them. They were actually leading 17-10 in the first set before Lee Jae Jin decided to retire due to injury. Later on, I saw the Korean player's foot heavily strapped with icepack. The Japanese pair will play Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan tomorrow. Should be a manageable match, but, the World Champion better don't underestimate their opponent.
(badminton-indonesia@yahoogroups.com)
