Overall, Team INA won 1 GOLD, 1 SILVER, and 1 BRONZE in Badminton this year. Here's my review of each player/pair's performance in the Beijing Olympics 2008. EXCELLENT Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan -- seeded first and was expected to deliver the Gold Medal. However, they faced a nightmare draw with two of the most dangerous non-seeded pairs in their half: Guo Zhendong/Xie Zhongbo and Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen. They were also expected to meet Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong (whom they never beat) and Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae (the in-form pair that everyone seemed to think will win the Gold here). The good thing was: Jung/Lee crashed out in the first round! Kido/Hendra also started nervously with a rubber-set victory over the CHN pair, but, they improved in the QF and SF with straight-sets victories over the MAS and DEN pairs. A Final encounter against the second-seed was mouth-watering and the INA pair nearly gave us a scare after being trounced 12-21 in the first set. Luckily, they bounced back and beat the CHN pair pretty easily in the next 2 sets, and deliver the coveted GOLD MEDAL to INA. Maria Kristin Yulianti -- unseeded and I personally only expected her to clear the first 2 rounds. The first round match against Juliane Schenk was nerve-wrecking and luckily, Maria won 22-20 in the rubber-set, saving a match pt at 19-20 Then, she thrashed her second opponent, Yoana Martinez, as expected and faced the mighty Tine Rasmussen in R16. It was beyond my imagination that she can beat Tine, the player whom I predicted will win the GOLD in WS based on her form this year. Maria herself admitted that her victory over Tine gave her confidence in the later matches. The QF match against Saina Nehwal was tense from the start, esp with the first-set ending in a heartbreak (26-28 to Saina). But, Maria never let that affect her performance and she truly bounced back in the second set, winning it 21-14. There was more drama though as Saina raced off to a 11-3 lead in the third set. Almost everyone thought Maria was dead and buried. We were wrong!! She went on a 16-1 run and overtook Saina 19-12. Saina was shell-shocked and Maria won the rubber-set 21-15! What a match! The SF match against Zhang Ning was less dramatic as she lost in straight-sets. However, Maria reserved her best for the Bronze Medal playoff against Lu Lan. Once again, Maria lost the first set easily, only to bounce back in the second set. She was also 0-3 down in the rubber-set, before setting off another unbelieable run that sent Lu Lan crushing and staring at a defeat at 8-18 The ending was slightly tense too as Lu Lan fought back to 15-19. Eventually, the last 2 pts were won by Maria as she won the BRONZE MEDAL, against all expectation! What a week it has been for Maria and INA fans definitely hope that her victories in Beijing would inspire her compatriots back home (esp Adriyanti Firdasari and Pia Zebadiah) and send a very strong message to them: the top WS players are certainly not unbeatable! GOOD Nova Widianto/Liliyana Natsir -- seeded first, was expected to deliver the Gold Medal, but failed in the penultimate round to Lee Yong Dae/Lee Hyo Jung. Still, a SILVER MEDAL is considered a good achievement, esp having to endure the tense match against He Hanbin/Yu Yang in the SF. Liliyana Natsir will still have many years of badminton in her since she's only 23, but, it will be a headache finding a suitable partner for her if Nova were to retire soon. AVERAGE Flandy Limpele/Vita Marissa -- seeded third, was expected to bring home at least a Bronze, but failed in the Bronze playoff against He Hanbin/Yu Yang, despite leading 11-7 at the interval and having a match pt at 21-20. The same thing happened in the SF, when they were leading 14-10 against Lee Yong Dae/Lee Hyo Jung. Farewell for Flandy for sure...but...Vita might still have a few years in her. Sony Dwi Kuncoro -- seeded sixth, Sony simply fulfilled his seeding by beating Boonsak Ponsana and Ville Lang. However, when he faced a better opponent in Lee Chong Wei, he lost meekly Vita Marissa/Liliyana Natsir -- with a tough draw against the top-seed and the defending champion in the very first round, it was expected that they lost. POOR Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto -- enough said about this pair, they WILL BE SPLIT after the Olympics. Will be interesting to see who will pair up with Alvent, as Luluk is most probably leaving Pelatnas. Taufik Hidayat -- this could be the last performance of Taufik Hidayat in the big events. A sad goodbye, but needed too! His presence in the team hampers the progress of younger players (like Simon Santoso).
