Badminton: Susanto powers home

Hermawan Susanto, of Indonesia, yesterday captured the Malaysian Open championship at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah when he beat the Dane, Peter Gade Christensen, 15-11, 15-11 in the men's singles final.

Susanto, 30, who put out his compatriot, Joko Suprianto, the top seed and former world champion, in the semi-finals, took just 45 minutes to defeat the 21-year-old Christensen.

The Indonesian showed composure in the first game, battling back after Christensen had taken a 9-6 lead. In the second Susanto got off to a fast start, leading 8-5 before Christensen drew level at 10-10. He then unleashed a series of smashes to put away the visibly tiring Christensen.