Female shuttlers told to prove their mettle<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Mixed doubles specialist Tri Kusheryanto urged
\nhis female teammates to prove their skills in the upcoming
\nSudirman Cup so as to quell the mounting criticism of their poor
\nachievements over the last two years.<\/p>\n
\"I hope the women shuttlers will see the positive side of the
\ncriticism by working harder to achieve better results. Otherwise
\nthey will crack and get frustrated,\" he said after a training
\nsession on Thursday at the Indonesian Badminton Center in
\nCipayung, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"All the players have agreed to help our female teammates with
\ntheir day-to-day training by becoming their practice partners.\"<\/p>\n
Tri, who took the 2000 Olympics silver medal with Minarti
\nTimur, said the women shuttlers still had a chance to contribute
\none or two points in the mixed team biennial event at San Pablo
\nStadium from May 28 to June 3.<\/p>\n
\"Who knows, maybe our best players in the men's singles, men's
\ndoubles or mixed doubles will be beaten and the women's singles
\nor doubles could make up for it instead. Anything can happen
\nthere.\"<\/p>\n
\"Our women players have similar skills to those of other
\ncountries, but it is up to them to put up a fight at the event to
\nprove their quality.<\/p>\n
Following the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI)'s
\ndecision to revised its target for the event from reaching the
\nsemifinals to winning the cup, the players have been newly
\nmotivated to give their all.<\/p>\n
\"Our motivation was boosted after the officials revised the
\ntarget to retake the cup instead of just reaching the semifinals,
\nwhich was not a target at all,\" Tri said.<\/p>\n
\"We have all set our minds on the Sudirman Cup and will do our
\nbest to take the title. Winning or losing is not a big issue as
\nlong as we do our best.\"<\/p>\n
\"As the cup bears the name of an Indonesian badminton hero, we
\nmust bring it back.\"<\/p>\n
Men's doubles player Sigit Budiarto, who just won the Japan
\nOpen title with partner Candra Wijaya, called on the officials to
\ndevelop a more comfortable atmosphere to enable the shuttlers to
\nfocus on their training.<\/p>\n
\"Officials should spend more time with us and getting involved
\nin our activities. They could also create a little diversion from
\nthe daily routine so as to make us all feel a little bit
\nfresher,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sigit was referring to a lunch outing for the team members on
\nTuesday after visiting Sudirman's grave at the Tanah Kusir
\nCemetery in South Jakarta. Sudirman was former PBSI chairman and
\ndeputy chairman of the International Badminton Federation, whose
\nname is taken for the event.<\/p>\n
A new training atmosphere was to seen at the center as junior
\nshuttlers gave a helping hand to the seniors by drilling the
\nseniors shots in three-on-one games.<\/p>\n
Usually the seniors and juniors have different training
\nschedules but the juniors were willing to help the seniors due to
\nthe lofty target of bringing home the Sudirman Cup.<\/p>\n
\"Seeing our juniors trying to help us by becoming our practice
\npartners really boosted our motivation to give our best shots at
\nthe event,\" Tri said.<\/p>\n
The PBSI official in charge of athletes development, Mangombar
\nFerdinand Siregar, said it would be a game of strategy to bring
\nthe title home.<\/p>\n
\"Each participating country will enlist its shuttlers and
\nfield those deemed suitable for each match. Therefore, our
\ncoaches and officials must be able to predict which shuttlers
\nwill play against ours. But we must remember it is only an
\nestimation.\"<\/p>\n
The Indonesian contingent is expected to meet President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid sometime next week before their departure next
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
\"The Presidential Secretariat officials asked the PBSI to
\nconfirm the schedule next Monday. I hope we can meet the
\npresident next Tuesday,\" said Siregar. (nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/female-shuttlers-told-to-prove-their-mettle-1447893297",
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