Chinese shuttler Bao Chunlai booked a duel with Indonesian Olympic
champion Taufik Hidayat after winning over Singapore's Ronal Susilo here on
Wednesday in the badminton men's singles second round at the Asian Games.
The 23-year-old Bao didn't win easily as he did in the
first round this morning when he defeated Mongolian Davaasuren Battur 21-11,
21-4.
Although the third-seeded Bao won the first set 21-15, he suffered a
formidable counterattack from Susilo who pulled one setback 21-15.
Susilo was still aggressive in the third set but could not keep a
concentrated Bao from winning 21-14.
"I was well prepared. I knew it would be a tough game since my opponent is
strong," said Bao.
On the same court, Indonesian top shuttler Taufik Hidayat went through a
severe challenge from South Korean Park Sung Hwan before winning 21-18, 19-21,
21-17.
"I feel very happy tonight, even though it was a very difficult game," said
25-year-old Taufik.
Talking about the clash with Taufik on Thursday, Bao said, "Tomorrow's match
will be extremely tough."
Taufik said, "I can feel pressure, but I'll do my best to get the gold
medal."
Top seed and world No. 1 Lin Dan from China also took a quarterfinal place,
beating Poompat Sapkulchananart from Thailand21-14, 21-16. He will take on Ng
Wei from Hong Kong of China on Thursday.
