Singapore Open Badminton: Lin Dan no-show leaves sour taste as China win four of five titles

Story by Stefanus Ian/Red Sports

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, June 19, 2011 — China swept all but one of the titles in the 2011 Singapore Open but the much anticipated final between Chinese shuttlers Lin Dan and Chen Jin was cancelled when Lin Dan withdrew at the last-minute, claiming he had gastroenteritis.

Minutes before the start of the men’s singles final, the bad news was announced through the public announcement system and a clearly upset audience responded with loud jeers. Even after the Chinese badminton superstar came on court to apologize and explain his situation, the crowd was merciless.

The two finalists then tried to appease the crowd by throwing autographed merchandise to the crowds but it hardly quelled the fury of the crowd. They continued booing the reigning Olympic champion even during the prize presentation ceremony.

“I understand and could empathize with the reactions of the crowd because I know a lot of people came down to support me,” said Lin Dan.

According to Lin Dan, he was already sick on Monday and after the grueling semi-final match against Peter Gade on Saturday, he drank too much cold water, further aggravating his stomach condition. This was the first time that Lin Dan reached the Singapore Open final.

When asked if he will play in the upcoming Indonesia Open, he said that it all depends on his team doctor’s assessment.

“I already entered my name into the competition but whether I can play or not, I would need to see my condition on that day,” said Lin Dan.

In the other final matches, the Indonesian pair of Tantowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir were the only non-Chinese winner when they grabbed the mixed doubles title in straight games, beating the Taiwanese pair of Chen Hung Lin gnad Cheng Wen Hsing 21-14, 27-25.

The Chinese Taipei pair simply could not cope with the Indonesian’s high-tempo offense. They never threatened the world number five pair as they trailed for the whole of the first game. They tried to keep the score close but they finally conceded 21-14. The second game was more competitive, especially towards the end, as both teams could not seem to close each other out.

Cheng Wen Hsing had difficulty with her serves, bleeding crucial points, but managed to redeem one of her mistakes with an unbelievable backhand flick following a powerful Tantowi smash. Indonesia finally won the second set 27-25 and Tantowi fell to the floor, covering his face and screaming for joy. A clearly elated Tantowi also threw his racquet into the crowd behind him.

“I was actually surprised we were serving for match point. In my head, I was just focusing on scoring one point after another. I was not thinking about the score at all, just concentrating on getting one point at a time,” said Tantowi.

Winning this title was clearly a major confidence boost and Tantowi was bullish about his chances for the 2012 Olympics.

“Our target would be to capture the gold medal in the Olympics,” said Tantowi.

In the women’s singles final, Tine Baun went down fighting against world number two Wang Xin in two tight games. The first set saw Baun, who was at one point down by four points, come back to level the score at 19-19 but she could not stop Wang Xin from winning the game 21-19.

In the second game, Wang Xin stretched Baun, sending her all over the court but the tough Danish veteran held on stubbornly. Facing a seven point deficit at 20-13, Tine Baun upped her game, scoring four successive points, but in the end it was not enough as Wang Xin won 21-17. Nevertheless, she was pleased with her performance in this tournament.

“I’m happy about coming into this final after beating Wang Shixian (in the semi-finals),” said Baun.

In the remaining two doubles finals, the Chinese cruised to victory. However, as a result of Lin Dan’s withdrawal, the audience took out their frustrations on the Chinese doubles players in the remaining matches.

However, that did not stop Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei ending the resistance of Korea’s Ha Jeung Un and Kim Min Jung in 42 minutes in the women’s doubles final. The Koreans managed to keep the gap small at first but once the fifth-seeded Chinese pair going going, there was little that they could do to stop them from winning 21-13, 21-16.

The Indonesian pair of Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Aprida Gunawan seemed to run out of steam in the last match of the Singapore Open as they lost in straight games 17-21, 13-21 to Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun of China. They battled hard to keep the scores close in the first set but they could not keep up their relentless offense as the Chinese pair pulled away to win the first game 21-17.

In the second game it was clear that the Chinese players came into the game prepared with a strategy to cope with the Indonesians offense. They were able to repel most of their opponents’ smashes as Alvent revealed after the match.

“They seemed to have anticipated our play from the start, before I was about to smash they would already be ready to return it,” said Alvent.

With their attack nullified, Alvent and Hendra struggled to make much headway as they eventually succumbed to the fourth-seeded Chinese pair, saving only just one match point at the end.

Alvent felt that their hard-fought semi-final match did not do them any favours for the final.

The losing finalists have the perfect opportunity to exact revenge in three days time, after they were drawn against the Chinese pair for the first round of the Indonesian Open.