YONEX-SUNRISE SS FINALS Day 3

YONEX-SUNRISE SS FINALS Day 3 - Time out Taufik?

Friday saw a showdown between Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat (photo) and Taipei’s Hsieh Yu Hsin, the losing qualifiers of the group dominated by Lee Chong Wei and Bao Chunlai. Taufik and Hsieh faced-off against each other on the final round robin morning with Hsieh earning for himself a morale-boosting 21-17, 21-15 victory, while Taufik goes home without winning a single match in Johor.

By Jan Lin, reporting live from Johor Bahru. Photos: Eka Nickmathulhuda for Badmintonphoto (live)

There was essentially nothing to play for as losing qualifiers will pocket the same amount of consolation prize money and there are no ranking points at stake either. But in all due respect for his legendary opponent, Hsieh demonstrated the desire to put on a good show against Taufik.

The 2004 Olympic champion, on the other hand, staged a half-hearted show at best. “Actually Taufik is no longer considered a threat to many players as much as he has rightfully earned the title as a legend,” shared Hsieh’s coach Luan Jin. “So while this is a good victory for Hsieh, I feel that his game against Bao Chunlai yesterday was a much better test of his character and ability.”

At the All-England this year, Taufik already needed 3 games to beat Hsieh (photo, right). The Taiwanese was also a quarter-finalist at the 2008 Olympic Games, where he stunned Wong Choong Hann, who had beaten Taufik in the first round. Hsieh then lost to the eventual bronze medallist, China’s Chen Jin, in the quarter-final.

“Hsieh has actually been going through a difficult period since the 2008 Olympic Games,” Coach Luan revealed. “He has been struggling in the mental aspect of his game since. There has been a dip in form as a result of his persistent inability to find the hunger and desire he needs to fight and to win.”

“So I was glad to see that Hsieh managed to awaken the fighter inside of him in yesterday’s game against Bao. Today’s performance against Taufik was merely a ripple effect,” concluded Coach Luan, “so yes these are morale-boosting victories. I hope things will pick up for him from here onwards.”

Hsieh will be representing Chinese Taipei at the East Asian Games this month.

For complete results from Day 3 of the 2009 Yonex-Sunrise BWF World Super Series Master Finals, CLICK HERE

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