INDONESIA OPEN 2011 R16 – After “no show”, Sho

Lin Dan (pictured) was shown the exit on the second round of the Djarum Indonesia Premier Super Series on Thursday in Jakarta after he showed little of his talent to bow to Japan’s Sho Sasaki. On  their hand, Taufik and Peter advanced to meet in an appealing quarter-final.

By Raphael Sachetat, live from Jakarta Istora Senayan Bung Karno Stadium.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Lin Dan’s stomach problem seems to have left him with little power – or will – to win after a rather convincing first round on Wednesday : the Olympic champion was ousted by in-form Sho Sasaki, but obviously, the Japanese didn’t have to push it too hard as the Chinese ace wasn’t as accurate as usual. Lin could have gone on the score of 13-21, 14-21 if Sho had scored on his first match point. Instead, he gave 4 easy points to his opponent who was catching up 18-20 before Sho finally nailed the winning point for a final 12-21, 18-21.

It is then – and then only, that the public realized that their dream final between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei – or Taufik – was not to be – their attention was drawn to Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan playing on the next court. Lin left the court like not much had happened, but to any badminton specialist, Lin’s ousting in the second round of a major tournament is a rare fact. His loss will avoid any possible suspicion for the next round as he was to play Chen Jin again – his final walk-over against the same player last week in Singapore had raised a lot of questions from the international press.  Lin Dan was fair play after his match, however, in his statement to the local press.

“I am still not feeling so well with my stomach but this doesn’t mean Sho Sasaki didn’t play well today. He deserved to win”, said Lin Dan.

The Japanese was thrilled to have finally beaten Lin: “I hadn’t succeeded the last two times even though I had given my very best, but this time I was able to make it. It feels great,” said Sasaki.

Taufik Hidayat (pictured above) got his ticket to the quarter-final after beating Bao Chunlai in a convincing matter. Both players are not as fast as they used to be, but the game was pleasant to watch, with the usual boiling supporters cheering for their hero. Things got tense at the end of each game, where Taufik’s calm helped him scoop his ticket with a 21-19, 25-23 success over Bao. The great Indonesian will play against Peter Gade (pictured left) – a classic meeting for a major tournament – as the Dane performed his usual solid game to beat Korea’s Shon Wan Ho 21-15, 21-19.  It was actually the first time in four attempts that Gade had needed only two games to beat Shon.

Nguyen Tien Minh was the last shuttler to make it to the men’s singles’ quarter-final after an epic battle over China’s new jewel Wang Zhengming, which went all the way to the wire and a 22-20 rubber game victory for the Vietnamese. Lee Chong Wei, earlier winner over Hong Kong’s Wong will be defying Nguyen in the quarters.

Men’s singles line-up for Friday’s quarter-finals:

Lee Chong Wei (MAS) vs Nguyen Tien Minh (VIE)
Chen Long (CHN) vs. Du Pengyu (CHN)
Peter Gade (DEN) vs. Taufik Hidayat (INA)
Chen Jin (CHN) vs. Sho Sasaki (JPN)

For complete results, CLICK HERE