Indonesia hopes for survival in Uber Cup tie<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (JP): The Indonesia Uber Cup team hopes to
\nsurvive in the upcoming match against Denmark on Saturday in the
\nThomas and Uber Cup championships at the Putra Indoor Stadium.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 3-2 victory over Japan in Thursday's opening day
\nmatch is expected to be an injection of motivation for the team's
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
"I hope the victory can make the players more confident in
\nfacing their next match," coach Imelda Wigoeno said on Friday.<\/p>\n
"We hope to get two singles and one doubles. Our second and
\nthird singles and the first doubles players have a better chance
\nagainst the Danish shuttlers."<\/p>\n
"Elysa Nathanael and Deyana Lomban lost narrowly to Rikke
\nOlsen and Helene Kirkegaard in the Indonesia Open. But they were
\nnot in their best form at that time. Hopefully they can improve
\ntheir form here."<\/p>\n
Imelda declined to mention the team line-up, only saying: "We
\nmust see the condition our athletes day by day. We will ask them
\npersonally about their preparations for the match."<\/p>\n
Indonesia will likely field first singles player Lidya
\nDjaelawidjaja, despite her loss to Yasuko Mizui on Thursday,
\nagainst 1999 world champion Camilla Martin.<\/p>\n
"It will be a good chance for me to defeat Camilla again as I
\ndid in the Indonesia Open last year. Hopefully I can play more
\nrelaxed," Lidya said.<\/p>\n
Second singles player Ellen Angelina is likely to take on
\nMette Sorensen while the third singles player could be Niniek
\nMasrikah facing Mette Pedersen. Yuli Marfuah, who lost to Miho
\nTanaka on Thursday, may be left as a spectator.<\/p>\n
In the doubles event, Indonesia has a chance to field second
\nbest Etty Tantri and Cynthia Tuwankotta to challenge Olsen and
\nKirkegaard. Second doubles will likely be Minarti Timur and Zelin
\nResiana to take on Ann-Lou Jorgensen and Mette Schjoldager.<\/p>\n
In another match, Japan will force its shuttlers to play hard
\nto avoid relegation by defeating Malaysia, which previously lost
\nto Denmark 1-4.<\/p>\n
Whitewash<\/p>\n
While in the Thomas Cup, Indonesia aims to create another
\nwhitewash of 5-0 against England. However, the doubles must be
\naware of the partnership of Simon Archer and Nathan Robertson,
\nwho, surprisingly, took one point from Chinese pair Zhang Jun and
\nYu Jinhao.<\/p>\n
Head coach Christian Hadinata said: "Shuttlers must perform as
\nwell as last Thursday, showing consistency from the first to last
\nmatches."<\/p>\n
"We must improve our performance from day to day as our
\nopponents are doing exactly the same thing."<\/p>\n
Indonesia is likely to field the same singles players as on
\nThursday. Hendrawan may play first, followed by Taufik Hidayat
\nand Marlev Mainaky. The team seems reluctant to field Hariyanto
\nArbi, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
In the doubles, however, world number one pair Candra Wijaya
\nand Tony Gunawan are likely to sit on the bench.<\/p>\n
The old partnership of Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky, the
\n1996 Olympic Games champions, are likely to take over the duty
\nand the second doubles will likely be a new partnership of
\nAntonius and Sigit Budiarto.<\/p>\n
On another court, Sweden seems realistic about its chance
\nagainst another favorite China in the Thomas Cup match.<\/p>\n
"In facing China, we hope to be able to defeat their first
\ndoubles as done by Simon and Nathan. Their victory has motivated
\nour doubles Par-Gunnar Jonsson and Peter Axelsson to grab a
\npoint. I also think we have a good chance in the third singles
\nbetween Martin Hagberg and Luo Yigang as Luo is not a very
\nspecial shuttler compared to his teammates," said coach Atik
\nDjauhari.<\/p>\n
Atik, formerly a coach at the Indonesian Badminton Center,
\ncomplained about his team's limited preparation for the biennial
\nevent.<\/p>\n
"We only prepared for two days. For Sweden, the Thomas and
\nUber Cup Championships is not a top priority. We only aim to be
\nahead of England in order to avoid relegation."<\/p>\n
"We are focussing our attention more on the preparation of our
\nshuttlers for the Olympic Games in Sydney in September. By
\ncompeting here, they can observe world shuttler performances."
\n(yan)<\/p>",
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