Arbi, Mia triumph

SINGAPORE, July 27: Former world champion Heryanto Arbi battled back against whirlwind Indonesian compatriot Indr Wijaya to win the men8217;s singles Konica Cup 3-15 18-14 15-9 today.

Precocious 17-year-old second seed Mia Audina made it a singles sweep for Indonesia with a stunning defeat of top-seeded world number three Gong Zhichao of China 11-12 11-8 11-4.

Wijaya, the fifth seed who produced the shock of the tournament by ousting Chinese top seed Sun Jun in the semi-finals, looked like he was going all the way when he overwhelmed Arbi in the first set, then took a 6-0 lead in the second.

But the second-seeded Arbi clawed his way back into the match by changing tactics, slowing things down and drawing Wijaya into long rallies and prompting unforced errors that eventually gave him the 23-minute second set 18-14.