Taufik Wins Easily on Day of  Shocks and Surprises

Samarinda, East Kalimantan - Taufik Hidayat began his campaign at the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold tournament with a straightforward 21-7, 21-15 victory over Singapore’s Andrianus Prasojo Adi on Wednesday.

But while Taufik cruised into the second round at Palaran Stadium here, some of the country’s other top seeds crashed out of the event at the first hurdle.

Fourth-seeded Sony Dwi Kuncoro was sent packing as he suffered a shock 21-13, 10-21, 21-16 defeat at the hands of unheralded Malaysian Misbun Mohmed Misbun R in the men’s singles.

In the women’s singles, no less than three seeded Indonesians were eliminated.

Ratchanok Inthanon of Thaland beat No. 5 seed Fransiska Harisaputra 21-14, 13-21, 21-14; Juan Gu of Singapore downed No. 6 seed Linda Wenifanetri 17-21, 21-13, 21-16; and another Singaporean, Jiayuan Chen, ousted No. 7 seed Maria Kristin Yulianti 21-8, 12-21, 21-17.

Top seed Adriyanti Firdasari managed to avoid the upset bug as she eased through in women’s singles with a 21-12, 21-12 rout of fellow Indonesian Renna Suwarno.

In mixed doubles, top seeds Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa moved into the second round as they cruised to a 21-15, 21-12 win over Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini.

In the men’s doubles, top seeds Yonatan Suryatama Dasuki and Rian Sukmawan survived a determined effort by Rendy Sugiarto and Afiat Yuris Wirawan, winning 21-13, 17-21, 22-20.

Indonesian shuttlers also pulled off a couple of shocks of their own. Unseeded men’s pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Christopher Rusdianto trounced No. 7 seeds Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan of China 21-16, 21-17, while the mixed doubles duo of Tri Kusuma Wardana and Nadya Melati upset another Chinese pair, No. 8 seeds Qiu Zihan and Luo Yu, 21-17, 15-21, 21-12. (Ami Afriatni)

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Chinese Shuttlers Make Samarinda Main Draw

Two Chinese shuttlers made it through to the women’s singles main draw of the Indonesia Grand Prix Gold, after they swept their qualifying matches at Palaran Stadium, Samarinda, East Kalimantan on Tuesday.

Suo Di won by a walkover against Ganis Nur Rahmadani then beat Sesaria Nisa Afifi 22-20, 21-12 to advance.

“[Sesaria] gave me a difficult time, so it wasn’t an easy victory,” said Suo, the reigning Asian juniors champion.

“I’m not expecting anything. I just want to do my best here.”

Yao Xue also earned a spot in the next stage after coming away with a 21-14, 21-5 victory over Syafitri Nur Azizah and a 21-19, 21-13 win against Dinar Dyah Ayustine.

Suo will take on Indonesian Tike Arida Ningrum in the first round today, while Yao will play Hera Desi Ana Rachmawati.

Indonesian qualifiers Elysabeth Purwaningtyas and Putri Muthia Restu Pangersa also advanced to the women’s singles main draw.

The pairs of Darmiko and Ferdian Fascal Rusman W, and Chrisna Adiwijaya and Syarif Syahmie Radhitian gave Indonesia two more entries in men’s doubles after making it past the qualifiers.

In mixed doubles, Nova Widianto has withdrawn from the tournament, citing an unspecified illness.

Nova, who is due to retire at the end of the season, was set to play with Shendy Puspa Irawati after the 32-year-old had parted ways with long-time playing partner Liliyana Natsir.

Meanwhile, Samarinda Police has deployed 360 police officers to make sure the tournament is properly secured, local daily Tribun Kaltim said.

The Indonesia GP Gold is the first international sports event to be held in the province. (Ami Afriatni)

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Indonesia Sports Week in Malaysia Opened

Kuala Lumpur - Minister of Yourth and Sports Andi Malarangeng officially opend the a sports week for Indonesian students studying in Malaysia along with providing a contribution of Rp40 million for the sports week.

"Actually the main tasks of the students to study, but they must also not forget sports," he said at the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday.

Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Da’i Bachtiar was also present on the occasion. Minister Andi Malarangeng also attended the opening of the 2nd Asean School Games 2010 in Kuala Lumpur. Indonesia sent 165 athletes and officials in the nine of the 11 branches of sports being competed.

Andi also had a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart for talks on cooperation between the youths of the two countries and for closer relations between the two nations, especially that Asean agreed to become one community in 2015, in which Indonesia and Malaysia are two countries acting as driving powers in Asean.

Chairman of the Indonesian students association in Malaysia Muhamad Hamidi said the branches of sports in which the Indonesian students are taking part are basketball, volleyball and badminton. He added that besides getting assistance of Andi Malarangeng the sports week also get assistance from the Indonesian embassy.

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Maradona Visits with Venezuela President Chavez

Caracas - Diego Maradona was mobbed by dozens of enthusiastic fans when he arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday to visit President Hugo Chavez and attend a series of events aimed at promoting sporting activities.

Maradona told state media he was eager to meet with Chavez — a friend who shares his love for sports and leftist political ideals — as fans waved Venezuelan and Argentine flags at Simon Bolivar International Airport — named after Venezuela’s 19th-century independence hero.

“I’m in the land of Simon Bolivar to meet with President Hugo Chavez,” said Maradona, according to a government statement. “Together, we will participate in various activities to promote Venezuelan sports.”

He did not elaborate, but Venezuela’s Sports Ministry announced the Argentine football coach would travel with Chavez to the central state of Cojedes on Thursday to attend a graduation ceremony for university athletes. He will also meet with local sports trainers to share ideas, it said.

Maradona has espoused leftist views in the past and boasted of his friendships with Chavez and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

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Family loyalty denies Indonesians Forlan appearance

Montevideo (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has refused to play in a friendly against Indonesia because the Uruguayan FA (AUF) turned down his brother`s proposal to organize the match, his father Pablo said on Wednesday.

"(Diego`s brother Pablo) had the chance to set up the match and it ended up being arranged by someone else," former Uruguay international Pablo Forlan said on radio 1410amlibre.

"How would one brother react if the other went to the match that he was (originally) going to fix?.

"Diego is not going for that reason," added the 1966 and 1974 World Cup defender.
A spokesman for the AUF said he could not comment on the issue but stated Forlan, the 2010 World Cup`s best player, was travelling direct to China for Uruguay`s match in Wuhan on Oct. 12.

Uruguay, semi-finalists at the World Cup in South Africa in July, meet Indonesia in Jakarta on Friday. (*)

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W Sumatra woman wins FIFA license as football referee

Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Herlin (25), an Indonesian woman from Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, has officially become a football referee after passing a test conducted by the International Football Association (FIFA) in Jakarta.

"Herlin passed the test and now holds a FIFA license to act as a football referee," Sudirman, general secretary of the West Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), said here Tuesday.

She was the only woman among many men who took the referee test, Sudirman said.
The test was conducted to select Indonesians qualified to hold a FIFA license to referee football matches, he said, adding that the test comprised general knowledge of football rules, a physical and medical test.

The test was participated in by seven people who came from Aceh, North Sumatra, West Java, East Java, and West Sumatra, he said.

Herlin was scheduled to attend another advanced concentration training of referees endorsed by FIFA in Hong Kong.

The concentration training would also be participated in by referees from European and American countries who were being prepared to referee international football matches, he said.

Sudirman appreciated Herlin`s achievement that brought Indonesia and especially West Sumatra in the international football world.

Herlin`s achievement in holding the FIFA referee license had also contributed to forming a positive image of Indonesia in the football world, he said.

Sudirman hoped there would be more women referees in the future, especially from West Sumatra.

"It is very rare for a woman to participate in the football world. This will be a good step to boost Indonesia`s reputation in the world of football referees," Sudirman said.(*)

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Italy, Serbia blame each other after match violence

Rome (ANTARA News/AFP) - Italy and Serbia blamed each other on Wednesday for intelligence failures after clashes between Serbian fans and Italian police that forced the cancellation of a Euro 2012 qualifying match.

"We have found flaws in the information system, the results of which are clear to everyone," Roberto Massucci, an interior ministry spokesman for efforts to combat football hooliganism, said at a press conference.

"Had we had specific information we would have put better security measures in place... but the information didn`t detail any risky profiles," he said.

"Our best weapon is intelligence, but there just wasn`t any," he added.

Massucci praised the Italian police for their "professionalism" when dealing with the riot and for preventing the situation from spiralling out of control.

But he said that Italy had received no warning of the seriousness of the threat, and that measures should have been taken by Serbian officials.

"The violent fans could have been prevented from leaving their country," Massucci said.
Italian security officials had received an Interpol document listing the Serbian fans who were travelling to the match but it was incomplete, Antonello Valentini, director general of the Italian Football Federation, said.

"Interpol said around 1,300 Serbian fans were arriving, but the number was much higher, there were 1,800 of them, around 180 of which came in on buses and minibuses that were not reported at all" he said.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said the preparations for the match had not been adequate and his Italian counterparts had not asked for any information on the arriving fans.

"They didn`t get in touch with us at all. We sent them a list of the Serbian supporters and the route they would take on our own initiative," he said.

"The intervention by Italian police could have been better," he added.

Police made 17 arrests and 16 people were hospitalised after the clashes in Genoa, in Northern Italy. The injured included two policemen. (Uu.A008/P003)

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