Hendrawan wants Indonesia Open title<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The 1998 Singapore Open winner Hendrawan of
\nIndonesia is optimistic about winning the 1998 Sanyo Indonesia
\nOpen badminton championships here next month which have been
\nplagued by a lack of entrants and sponsors.<\/p>\n
\"My ambition is to win the Indonesia Open to prove that I'm
\nthe best shuttler among my teammates. I need to prove it because
\npeople have called me their hero and the best player. I think I'm
\nstill nothing because I rarely win against my teammates,\" he told
\na media conference on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Hendrawan became the country's hero after beating Yong Hock
\nKin of Malaysia in the Thomas Cup championship final in Hong Kong
\nin May to steal one point in the singles. Indonesia won the cup
\nfor 11th time thanks to doubles victories from Ricky Subagja\/Rexy
\nMainaky and Candra Wijaya\/Sigit Budiarto.<\/p>\n
The championships, offering US$120,000 in prize money --
\nUS$80,000 less than last year -- will take place at the Senayan
\nIndoor stadium from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1.<\/p>\n
\"I'm preparing myself very seriously for the event and I
\nturned down my coach's offer to compete at the Danish Open (in
\nCopenhagen from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18). I'll have had about six
\nweeks to prepare after I lost at the Asian Championships in
\nBangkok early this month,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesia Open will be the last tryout for national
\nshuttlers before the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok from Dec. 6 to
\nDec. 20.<\/p>\n
The general manager of PT Sanjaya Sakti, the marketing office
\nof Japan-based electronics company Sanyo, Nancy Felicia, denied
\nreports that the main sponsor, Sanyo, was only providing $20,000.<\/p>\n
\"Some papers mentioned it last week but it is not true. Our
\ncontribution is much more than that,\" she said, but declined to
\nmention the figure because it was \"confidential\".<\/p>\n
The organizers, the Badminton Association of Indonesia and the
\nInternational Management Group (IMG), reduced the prize money
\nfrom $200,000 due to the economic collapse, moved the tournament
\nfrom Manado, North Sulawesi, and adjourned it for more than two
\nmonths for security reasons. The smaller cash prizes
\nautomatically drop the event's rating from five stars to four.<\/p>\n
IMG senior events manager, Maya Hidajat, said that Sanyo's
\ncontribution was more than 50 percent of the prize money.<\/p>\n
Maya said only that Sanyo had confirmed it would sponsor the
\nevent.<\/p>\n
\"It's hard to get more sponsors but some other companies are
\nto give their answers in one or two weeks from now,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The association's secretary-general, Leo Ch. Wiranata, said
\nthe organizers decided to delay the registration deadline to
\nattract more participants.<\/p>\n
The association has invited 30 members of the International
\nBadminton Federation to compete, but only Nigeria has responded.
\nThe deadline for registration has been extended from Sept. 25 to
\nOct. 1.<\/p>\n
Leo said Singapore, England and Japan have confirmed their
\nnonparticipation in the event. China's head coach Li Yongbo has
\nsaid he does not know if the Chinese shuttlers will compete at
\nthe event.<\/p>\n
Indonesia produced a clean sweep in last year's event in
\nSurakarta, Central Java, thanks to the absence of Chinese players
\nwho did not attend because they experienced visa problems. (yan)<\/p>",
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