Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Silvi Antarini became Indonesia's only women's singles player to steal star at the JVC Asia Badminton Championships with a three-set win over Jun Jae-youn of South Korea in the quarterfinals here on Friday. Compatriots Maria Kristin and Fransisca had to abandon their bids at the US$150,000 tournament after losing to top seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong 11-7, 11-3, and Chinese Dai Yun 11-3, 13-10 respectively. Silvi, who is only ranked 135th in the world, burst into tears after beating the 14th-ranked Jun 6-11, 11-4, 11-9. The 19-year-old Indonesian, who made her return to the national training center only a couple of months ago, showed she might still be rusty as she broke down in the opening set. Hundreds of spectators inside the Bung Karno Tennis Stadium, in Central Jakarta, were cheerfully relieved when Silvi fought back to equalize the score. In the third set, Silvi pulled to a 7-4 lead. But she then looked nervous, which Jun coolly exploited to catch up. The two players were tied at 9-9, a crucial moment that could have gone either way. It appeared that Silvi had already recovered her composure to pull back in front. The two sides changed services five times before Silvi closed the dramatic set 11-9. "I was very nervous. I was too worried about losing a point. I tried hard not to allow her to get to deuce," she said at the press conference after her match. Against Ling Wang Ting of Hong Kong, a 7-11, 11-3, 11-7 winner over Chinese Zeng Yagiong, in the semifinals Silvi said she would be looking for an even better performance. The two players met in last month's Malaysia Open where the Indonesian trampled the 23-year-old in a straight sets 11-6, 11-1. While urging Silvi to maintain concentration, head coach Ivanna Lie warned her protege against underestimating her opponent, who is rated lower than Jun. "Although she has just been back at the national squad for a couple of months Silvi has shown her potential," she said. In the men's singles, Indonesia's duo of top seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Taufik Hidayat marched a step closer to emulating their performance last year. Sony, who beat Taufik in the finals in Bangkok last year, romped to a 15-10, 15-5 win over Jang Young-soo of Korea. Tournament favorite Taufik followed by outclassing Korean Park Sung-hwan 15-3, 15-4. It will be an Indonesia-Hong Kong affair in the semifinals with Sony to be challenged by Agus Haryanto and Taufik to take on Ng Wei. The men's doubles competition has assured Indonesia a place in the finals with Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian and Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan being squared each other in Saturday's semifinals. However, Jo Novita/Lita Nurlita are the only Indonesia's women's pair after they defeated their only other compatriots Greysia Polii/ Rani Mundiasti. In the mixed doubles, top seeds Korean Kim Yong-hyun/Lee Hyo-jung will meet Indonesians Anggun Nugroho/Eny Widiowati, while Indonesian favorites Nova Widianto/Vita Marissa will face Liu Kwok Wa/Koon Wai Chee of Hong Kong.
