WORLDS 2015 Day 3 – Sugiarto’s Wei blocked

Tommy Sugiarto, the home favourite in men’s singles, was ousted by Hong Kong’s Wei Nan Wednesday at the BWF World Championships.

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent live in Jakarta.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Just two days ago, it was Wei Nan (pictured) who was staring a major upset in the face.  The world #20 was on the ropes against Howard Shu of the United States.

Today, the 31-year-old was the underdog, even though his most impressive result of late, his bronze medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, came partly at the expense of Tommy Sugiarto (pictured below), his second-round opponent in Jakarta this week.

But it was not just a higher-ranked player that Wei Nan was facing in the Istora Senayan.  It was the voices and hopes of a very passionate crowd, together with the songs, balloon batons, and drums to accompany the cheering.

Wei just scraped by in the first game, winning it 26-24, only to see Sugiarto take charge and run away with the second.  The Indonesian played some brave shots as he trailed Wei Nan late in the decider but finally Wei got the lift he wanted and pummelled home the winning smash.

“I am very happy and I quite did not expect to win the match, which was very competitive,” Wei Nan said after the match.

“Today, the crowd caused the temperature of the game to increase and the heat was distracting,” he said of his problems in the second game, “but I was playing relaxed and without pressure.

On his target for this tournament, Wei said, “I just wanted to participate in this tournament, just giving the best that I could.

“Tommy Sugiarto has a lot of potential and he’s also still young.  I believe in the future he will improve.”

Wei’s next match is against Malaysia’s Zulfadli Zulkiffli, who saw off Ireland’s Scott Evans in straight games.  Interestingly, the much lower-ranked Malaysian has beaten Wei both times the two players met, both in qualifying round matches in 2013.

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