Coach, sponsor pleased with Indonesia Open<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A foreign coach and the sponsor expressed their
\nrelief on Tuesday that the Badminton Association of Indonesia
\n(PBSI) was proceeding with the Sanyo Indonesia Open badminton
\nchampionships which starts on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"It's a good achievement for PBSI to go ahead with the
\ntournament. Some tournaments have had to be canceled due to the
\nbad circumstances. Hopefully when things are better, tournaments
\ncan be staged again,\" Malaysia's Danish coach Morten Frost Hansen
\nsaid after a training session.<\/p>\n
This year's Korean Open, Thailand Open and China Open were
\ncanceled due to the economic crisis that has blighted the region
\nfor more than a year.<\/p>\n
Nancy Felicia, general manager of Sanyo distributor PT Sanjaya
\nSakti, told a media conference earlier in the day: \"We're not
\ndisappointed with the limited number of participants, only seven
\nfederations. We are satisfied that Sanyo can still sponsor the
\nevent. We have committed to sponsor the event in the future.\"<\/p>\n
Organizing committee chairman Juniarto Suhandinata said that
\nwithout PBSI's vigorous lobbying, the number of participants
\nwould have been less.<\/p>\n
The organizers began to worry about the lack of participants
\nafter a number of players withdrew. Only shuttlers from Denmark,
\nPoland, England, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand and
\nIndonesia will compete in the US$120,000 tournament.<\/p>\n
Denmark's stars Peter Gade Christensen and Peter Rasmussen in
\nthe men's singles and Camilla Martin in the women's singles will
\nall will miss the event.<\/p>\n
South Korea and China have also opted to stay away while
\nMalaysia is only sending its second stringers.<\/p>\n
Coaches have said top players are missing the Indonesia Open
\nto prepare for the Hong Kong Open in mid-November.<\/p>\n
Hansen complained, however, that the Indonesia Open organizers
\nwere too slow to confirm that they would stage the tournament.<\/p>\n
\"We have to prepare for other tournaments. When PBSI announced
\nit would stage the Indonesia Open, our top shuttlers had decided
\nto play in Europe,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Malaysia is only relying on Yong Hock Kin in the men's singles
\nand Lee Wan Wah\/Chew Choon Eng in the men's doubles.<\/p>\n
Danish coach Kenneth Larsen said that some of his shuttlers
\nhad decided to compete in the Hong Kong Open.<\/p>\n
\"We've got to be in Hong Kong in three weeks from now. It's
\nimpossible for them (the shuttlers) to go to Jakarta, back home
\nand then to Hong Kong,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Larsen said Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen, the 1996 Olympic gold
\nmedalist, would face a tough challenge from host shuttlers,
\n\"especially young players such as Taufik Hidayat. We saw him once
\nand he was very good. He's very strong and has a good fighting
\nspirit,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Larsen said that Denmark had a great chance to win the mixed
\ndoubles as its two pairs -- Michael Soogard\/Rikke Olsen and Jens
\nEriksen\/Marlene Thomsen -- were the first and second seeds.<\/p>\n
Sogaard said: \"We have a big chance at this tournament
\nprovided we can play consistently. We are full of confidence. The
\nweather is hot for everyone and it's not an excuse if we play
\nbadly.\" (yan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/coach-sponsor-pleased-with-indonesia-open-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}