Maria Kristin Yulianti, the biggest dark horse at the Beijing badminton tournament, finally clinched the bronze medal in the women's singles on Saturday, beating No. 3 seed Lu Lan from China 11-21, 21-13, 21-15.

After losing the first game easily, the Indonesia exhibited her perseverance and consistency on the court, driving the Chinese rookie to make rush mistakes with her inpenetratable defence in the second and third games.

Yulianti, currently ranked No.21 who survived several tough matches in previous rounds, including a match against top favorite Tine Rasmussen from Denmark in the round of 16, was downed by defending champion Zhang Ning in the semi-final.

While in the other semi-final, Lu Lan was defeated in a Chinese derby by top seed Xie Xingfang.

"I'm quite satisfied with my overall performance at my first Olympic Games," said 20-year-old Lu in a sobbing tone.

"The opponent played more consistently than me," she admitted. "I felt a little bit nervous and played too hastily when I lagged far behind during the third game."

The bronze medal was apparently a bonus to the 23-year-old Indonesian, who won the first medal in the women's singles for her country since Mia Audina and Susi Susanti won a silver and a bronze at the Atlanta Olympics.

"It was unexpected throughout this tournament. I was sure that I would lose at some stage," said the Indonesian.

On the key point of winning the bronze medal final against Lu Lan, she said her strategy "was to make her tired, although today she played more aggressively but I stuck with my game plan to the end."

(Xinhua News Agency Agusut 16, 2008)