Unheralded Chinese bundles out Hidayat

It only took a second stringer on China’s national squad to boot out the top draw in the men’s singles event of the JVC Asian Badminton Championships as Lin Dan upended defending champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia before a stunned crowd at the Philsports Arena.

The victory was swift as it was emphatic as the 6-foot, 18-year-old Lin needed only some 25 minutes to fashion out a 15-2, 15-3 win in a victory that further underscored the inroads that the Chinese have gained in the sport in the last few years.

"I’m confident I can beat him," said the left-handed Lin through top Filipino player Kennevic Asuncion who acted as interpreter. The win shoved him to the quarterfinal round while sending the dejected Hidayat to an unlikely exit.

But then again, the rigors of playing three straight top-level tournaments must have taken their toll on the Indon as Hidayat, who won the recent Singapore Open and who thumped local bet Lloyd Escoses in the first round Wednesday, was visibly off-form against Lin.

"It’s really difficult to sustain one’s form especially if you’re coming off a series of top-level tournaments," said national team coach Nelson Asuncion.

Lin’s victory overshadowed some of the fancied bets’ surge in the second day of action, including those of compatriots Gao Ling and Huang Sui.

Gao and Huang, a pair of tall, agile and athletic Chinese talents, gave the Syrian tandem of Iva Vroya Al-Ratrib and Rasha Al-Hassan a neat badminton lesson as they cruised to a 15-2, 15-0 rout.

The top seed Korean tandem of Kim Dong Moon and Ra Kyung Min later matched that overpowering display of skills in the mixed doubles as they outclassed the Taiwanese tandem of Lee Sung-yuan and Peng Ju-yu, 15-2, 15-5, to advance to the next round.

Top seed Wang Chen likewise coasted with an 11-2, 11-1 victory over Taiwanese Chen wan-ju to arrange a third round match with compatriot Hu Ting, who downed Indian G. Jwala, 11-4, 11-1.

But while the Chinese and the Koreans cruised with one-sided victories, defending ladies doubles champion pair of Lee Kyung-won and Lee Hyo-jung got ambushed by Deyana Lomban and Vita Marissa of Indonesia, who pulled off a stirring 15-7, 13-15, 15-1 victory in the biggest reversal posted so far in the $150,000 event sponsored by Japanese electronic giant JVC.

That gave the Indons a spot in the quarterfinal round of the ladies doubles where they will be clashing with third ranked Oniike Megumi and Mori Kaori of Japan, whose compatriots Chikako Nakayama and Anjo Mika stunned fourth seed Taiwanese Cheng Wen-hsing and Chien Yu-chin, 15-13, 15-12, earlier.

Japan actually sent three teams to the quarters of the ladies doubles as Shizuka Yamamoto and Seiko Yamada also won their game over Hong Kong’s Ling Wan Ting and Kook Wai Chee, 17-14, 17-16, but it seems no one could hold a candle against the talented Chinese duo.

The local bets fell like dominoes in the face of top-notch opposition as siblings Kennie and Kennevic Asuncion bumped into second seed Bambang Suprianto and Minarti Timur of Indonesia and lost their second round mixed doubles match, 15-17, 7-15.

Despite the cheers and support of the crowd, the Asuncions failed to muster enough power to turn back the Indons. Still, the brother-sister tandem put up a gallant stand in the first game where they battled the fancied Indons to a series of service overs, staying in the game and forcing an extension on smashes and drop shots.

"They are the No. 2 seeds, we can only do so much," said Kennie.

Save for the men’s doubles team of Ian Piencenaves and Arolas Amahit, all the local bets headed straight home with numbing losses late Wednesday night in setbacks that only showed how far the Filipinos lag behind other Asian countries although they said they have gained much from the exposure of playing against some of the world’s best players.

Quarterfinal berths were still being dispute late night with today’s action expected to be fierce as the surviving field vie for semifinal berths in five categories of this event organized by IMG and backed by Yonex, Manila Galleria Suites, 96.3 DW Rock, 103.5 K Lite and the Philippines STAR.

Four matches each in men’s and ladies singles, men’s and ladies doubles and mixed doubles are on tap starting at 1 p.m., ensuring an action-packed afternoon among some of the world’s best and a slew of promising players. Tickets are available at all National Bookstore branches, Robinson’s Ermita and Ortigas, Music Museum and at the Tower Records outlets in Makati and Alabang.