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BRUNEI OPEN: YOUNG GUN TAUFIK BEATS DONG FOR TITLE

July 13, 1998 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Indonesian teenager Taufik Hidayat showed the badminton world that he will soon be a force to be reckoned with when he upset world men's singles number three Dong Jiong of China in the finals of the Brunei Open yesterday at the Multi-Purpose Hall in Bandar Seri Begawan and captured his first title in the badminton Grand Prix circuit.

Hidayat, the 1997 Asian men's singles junior champion, used his economical all-court movement, superior conditioning, quick-reflexed smash defenses and a stinging jumpsmash of his own to beat the out-of-condition Dong. Dong had taken a scrappy first game with a late run of points 15-12, but ran out of steam in the second after scoring the first two points.

The Chinese player's smashes lost some speed, his clears some length. Dong also made many errors. All of this worked to the young Indonesian's advantage. Hidayat took control of the second game and won it easily 15-3, as Dong began to conserve himself for the decider after Hidayat had pulled away to a large lead.

Dong came back after the five-minute break with a little more energy, but he soon got tired again. He made many errors and poorly-executed shots, allowing Hidayat many scoring chances. Hidayat won the decider 15-7.

According to a source close to the Chinese national squad, Dong had taken some time off after the Thomas Cup Finals and was not yet playing at the top of his form. He had not been expected by the team to do well at the previous week's Malaysian Open and at the Brunei Open, although they thought that he would beat the young Hidayat, despite his lack of conditioning.

In the women's singles event, Gong Ruina of China, winner of the Asian women's singles junior championship in the same year that Hidayat won his Asian junior title, also served notice that she is about to become another force in women's badminton. Gong defeated teammate Zhou Mi, another former top Asian junior, 11-7 and 11-4 in yesterday's championship match.

Earlier in the tournament, Gong had beaten badminton great Susi Susanti in the second round 2-11, 11-5 and 11-4, top Japanese player Yasuko Mizui 11-7 and 11-8 in the quarterfinals, and recently-crowned Malaysian Open champion Zhang Ning in the semifinals.

Tony Gunawan and Halim Haryanto of Indonesia took their second men's doubles Grand Prix title in a row. They defeated the scratch Danish-Indonesian pairing of Michael Sogaard and Denny Kantono 15-2 and 15-8 in the final. Gunawan and Haryanto were the winners at the Malaysian Open the week before last. Sogaard was filling in for Kantono's regular partner, Antonius Budi Iriantho, who is recovering from a recent injury.

Chinese players Huang Nanyan and Yang Wei took the women's doubles crown. They beat top-seeds Rikke Olsen and Marlene Thomsen of Denmark 15-11 and 17-14 in the final. Huang and Yang had put out the second-seeded Indonesians Indarti Isolina and Denyana Lomban in the semifinals.

In the mixed doubles championship match played on Saturday evening, Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Marlene Thomsen defeated teammates Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen 15-13 and 15-6.

Some results of matches in the earlier rounds:

Quarterfinals (played on Friday) -
Men's Singles - Dong Jiong (China) beat Xia Xuanze (China) 15-7, 15-8; Alan Budi Kusuma (Indonesia) beat Jeffer Rosobin (Indonesia) 15-18, 15-7, 15-4; Xiao Hui (China) beat Zhu Feng (China) 15-6, 15-8; Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) beat Nunung Subandoro (Indonesia) 15-12, 12-15, 15-12
Women's Singles - Yao Jie (China) beat Dai Yun (China) 9-12, 11-6, 11-8; Zhou Mi (China) beat Yu Hua (China) 11-4, 11-4; Zhang Ning (China) beat Kelly Morgan (Wales) 11-1, 11-8; Gong Ruina (China) beat Yasuko Mizui (Japan) 11-7, 11-8
Men's Doubles - Tony Gunawan/Halim Haryanto (Indonesia) beat Liu Yong/Yu Jinhao (China) 15-11, 15-2; Siripong Siripol/Pramote Teerawiwatana (Thailand) beat Jens Eriksen/Jesper Larsen (Denmark) 15-11, 15-11; Limpele Flandy/Ade Lucas (Indonesia) beat Julian Robertson/Nathan Robertson (England) 15-7, 15-12; Michael Sogaard (Denmark)/Denny Kantono (Indonesia) beat Zhang Wei/ Zhang Jun (China) 15-11, 15-4
Women's Doubles - Marlene Thomsen/Rikke Olsen (Denmark) beat Chen Lin/Jiang Xuelian (China) 15-10, 15-8; Etty Tantri/Cynthis Tuwankotta (Indonesia) beat Zhou Mi/Gong Ruina (China) 15-7, 18-14; Huang Nanyan/Yang Wei beat Haruko Matsuda/Yoshiko Iwata (Japan) 15-8, 15-7; Indarti Isolina (Indonesia) beat Zhang Ning and Yu Hua (China) 15-9, 7-15 and 15-10

Semifinals -
Mixed Doubles (played on Friday evening) - Michael Sogaard/Rikke Olsen (Denmark) beat Simon Archer/Joanne Goode (England) 9-15, 15-10, 15-7; Jens Eriksen/ Marlene Thomsen (Denmark) beat Bambang Suprianto/Minarti Timur (Indonesia) 15-11, 15-2

Semifinals (played on Saturday) - Men's Singles - Dong Jiong (China) beat Alan Budi Kusuma (Indonesia) 15-3, 15-7; Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) beat Xiao Hui (China) no score reported
Women's Singles - Zhou Mi (China) beat Yao Jie (China) no score reported; Gong Ruina (China) beat Zhang Ning (China) no score reported
Men's Doubles - Tony Gunawan/Halim Haryanto (Indonesia) beat Siripong Siripol/ Pramote Teerawiwatana (Thailand) no score reported; Michael Sogaard (Denmark)/ Denny Kantono (Indonesia) beat Limpele Flandy/Ade Lucas (Indonesia) no score reported
Women's Doubles - Marlene Thomsen/Rikke Olsen (Denmark) beat Etty Tantri/ Cynthis Tuwankotta (Indonesia) no score reported; Huang Nanyan/Yang Wei (China) beat Indarti Isolina/Denyana Lomban (Indonesia) no score reported