Tine Rasmussen from Denmark, regarded as the biggest threat to reigning Chinese women's singles shuttlers, was stopped at the threshold to quarterfinals by Maria Kristin Yulianti from Indonesia Monday.
It seemed that the No. 6 seed didn't get enough warm-up in her first match on Sunday and looked a little bit tense in the encounter against the Indonesian hopeful, as she made too many errors at her trademark smashes.
The tiny Indonesian, on the contrary, exerted all her capabilities and reversed the game result at 18-21, 21-19 and 21-14.
"I didn't play my best badminton today, maybe just 80 percent of my strength at most," said the 29-year-old now ranked at No. 4, who lost in the second round at Athens Olympics.
"I feel a little bit stiff as it's the Olympics, and I expect too much on myself," admitted Rasmussen, praising her opponent Yulianti as a good player, who defeated Olympic champion Zhang Ning at Indonesia Open last June.
While Yulianti expressed her surprise to clinch the victory against the Danish giant. "I had never thought of defeating Tine before, as she clinched three Super Series titles this year, including the All England Open."
"The key point of the victory is my defence, because I know she is a good attacker," said the 21th-ranked Indonesian who survived a tough game against Juliane Schenk from Germany in the first round.
(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2008)