Badminton: Denmark's Gade ousts home boy Hidayat
Danish star Peter Gade defeated local hero Taufik Hidayat on his home turf in the first men's singles quarter-final of the Indonesian Open on Friday. World number five Gade defeated the Olympic champion in straight games 21-17 and 21-15, ending 29-year-old Hidayat's pursuit of a record seventh Indonesian Open singles crown. About 3,000 fans packed Jakarta's Senayan indoor stadium in the hope of seeing the former world number one carry Indonesia's hopes into the semi finals, but they went quiet as Gade took control of the match. "This is one of my best matches ever," Gade said after forcing his veteran opponent into a string of costly errors. "Taufik made a lot of mistakes. I'm very happy that I could beat him on his home court." Gade, 34, led from the start and finished with 18 smash winners compared to 15 by Hidayat, the world number three. The Indonesian tried to match Gade's attacking play but admitted he found it difficult to lift his game. "I was very disappointed. But I have to applaud Peter for playing consistently in the last several tournaments. He performed really well," Hidayat said. "I was trying to get out of Peter's attacking pressure but I admit that I made a lot of mistakes. I was a bit unfocused," he said. Hidayat was hoping to set a record for the most men's singles crowns at the Indonesia Open. He is tied on six with former Indonesian shuttler Ardy B. Wiranata. His failure to advance past the quarter finals will provoke more soul-searching within the ranks of Indonesian badminton ahead of the London Olympics next year. After a poor showing at the Sudirman Cup in May, Hidayat complained that younger compatriots lacked fighting spirit. Japan's Sho Sasaki defeated Chinese world number two Lin Dan 21-12 and 21-18 on Thursday to enter the other quarter-final against China's Chen Jin, to be played later Friday. Dan controversially pulled out of the Singapore Open final against his Chinese team-mate Jin on Sunday, citing illness. Singapore newspapers splashed the incident on their front pages, calling it a "disgrace" and "the badminton final that wasn't".
