INDONESIAN OPEN: LOCALS WIN FOUR TITLES

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November 1, 1998 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - Indonesian players took four of the five championship matches played today at the Indonesian Open badminton tournament in Jakarta. Only the men's singles crown eluded the competitors from the host country.

Malaysia's Yong Hock Kin defeated Budi Santoso of Indonesia in a lacklustre final to capture the men's singles championship. Santoso, playing in his first big-time final, was too tight and gave many points to Yong on erratic play. Yong rolled to an unexpectedly easy 15-7 and 15-6 title victory and the USD9,600 men's singles champion's purse.

Mia Audina of Indonesia had a similiarly easy victory in the women's singles final. She blanked a nervous Mette Sorensen of Denmark in the first game and took the second set 11-6.

The men's doubles championship match was also one-sided. Olympic champions Rexy Mainaky and Ricky Subagja of Indonesia were too skillful at defense and too powerful at the attack for their teammates Flandy Limpele and Hian Eng in today's final. The R-and-R duo took the men's doubles title and the USD8,640 first prize with a easy 15-5 and 15-4 victory.

The mixed doubles and women's doubles championship matches provided most of the suspense.

Trikus Heryanto and Minarti Timur of Indonesia tangled with their archrivals, Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen of Denmark, in the mixed doubles final. The Danes took the first game 15-10, capitalizing when the Indonesian pair hit the shuttle long several times.

In the second and third games, though, Heryanto and Timur got their shots under control. With Timur playing well at the net and the Danes seemingly losing their touch, the Indonesian pair took the next two sets with identical 15-6 scores to win the mixed doubles title.

In tne women's doubles final, top seeds Elisa Nathanael and Deyana Lomban Indonesia clawed their way back from the brink of defeat at the hands of Denmark's Marlene Thomsen and Rikke Olsen. The Indonesians had been outplayed 7-15 in the first game and had to battle through to a tiebreak in the second.

Elisa and Lomban spoiled Olsen and Thomsen's strong bid for the Indonesian Open women's doubles title by prevailing in the second game setting 3-1 (17-15) and then taking the decider 15-7 from the tiring Danish pair.

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