INDONESIAN OPEN: ALL FIVE TITLES GO TO INDONESIA

**This NEW SHUTTLENWS report is presented by YANG YANG BADMINTON PRODUCTS and their Southern U.S.A. agents, SPORTSNET INTERNATIONAL (Email:jumpsmash@aol .com/Tel:713-771-8905/Fax:713-771-4446)**

July 20, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Players from host country Indonesia took all of the five event championships at the Indonesian Open badminton championships which was completed today. Indonesia had gone into today's championship matches at the Bhinekka Stadium in Solo, Java with four titles already in the bag - the men's singles, women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles finals were all-Indonesian affairs. Only the men's doubles championship tussle had a visiting pair of players matched up against Budiarto Sigit and Chandra Wijaya, the world champions from Indonesia.

The Indonesian sweep though was completed with players from China not participating in the tournament because of processing delays with their Indonesian visas. These players included world champions Ye Zhaoying (women's doubles), Ge Fei and Gu Jun (women's doubles), and Liu Yong (mixed doubles with Ge Fei), as well as world championships silver medalists Sun Jun (men's singles), Gong Zhichao (women's singles), and Tang Yongshu and Qin Yiyuan (women's doubles).

Trikus Heryanto and Minarti Timur took the first title for the host country, winning the mixed doubles finals. Trikus was all over the court, attacking with tricky, jumping strokes from the backcourt and darting to the net area for putaways, while Minarti provided excellent support at the front as well as the rearcourt. The Trikus-Minarti combination proved too much for men's doubles specialist and mixed doubles "novice" Bambang Suprianto and partner Rosalina Riseu, with Trikus and Minarti taking the victory in a little over 45 minutes, 15-11 and 15-6.

Susi Susanti followed with another Indonesian Open women's singles title. She defeated young teammate Meiluawati 11-4 and 11-5. Susanti used her patented style of long, energy-sapping rallies to take the first game. In the second game, Meiluawati was able to take the initiative early with fast, aggressive play. However, the young Indonesian could not maintain the pace and Susanti soon dictated the way the game was going, again playing the long rallies that often forced Meiluawati into an error.

Ardy Wiranata was the third Indonesian entry to take top honours. Ardy beat unseeded compatriot Marleve Mainaky 15-9 and 15-3 to win his sixth Indonesian Open men's singles title and to complete an almost year-long comeback from a bout with hepatitis A.

In the women's doubles final, Resiana Zelin and Eliza defeated the new pairing of veterans Minarti Timur and Finarsih 15-10 and 15-5.

In the finale of championship day, men's doubles world champions Budiarto Sigit and Chandra Wijaya battled it out with Koreans Lee Dong Soo and Yoo Yung Sung who had upset Olympic champions Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky in yesterday's semifinals.

The two pairs played at a super-quick and furious pace with smashes thundering and drive shots flashing across the net. Sigit and Wijaya though were the quicker and the steadier of the combatants and they beat the Koreans 15-9 and 15-10 to complete the Indonesian title sweep.

(jpcfont/migrossman)