Indonesia to retain winning Davis Cup team<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti)
\nannounced on Thursday the team that will face Uzbekistan early
\nnext year in the Davis Cup Group I Asia Oceania zone tie.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will keep its winning team -- Suwandi, Hendri Susilo
\nPramono, Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo -- from its Group II
\nmatch against Chinese Taipei in October. Indonesia defeated
\nChinese Taipei 4-1 to earn a promotion to Group I.<\/p>\n
Pelti official in charge of athlete development, Sudjiono
\nTiman, said during a breaking the fast event the players were
\nnamed to the team based on a strategy, not merely on their
\nnational rankings.<\/p>\n
\"We want to retain the team that won the last Davis Cup tie
\nagainst Chinese Taipei. We realize that Uzbekistan is a strong
\nteam,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is scheduled to meet Uzbekistan from Feb. 9 to Feb.
\n11 in Jakarta, most likely at the Kemayoran Tennis Center in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Suwandi has had some awesome achievements. Hendri was
\nbrilliant against Taipei but he may not be fit enough to play
\nfive sets. During his five-set match against Taipei he had foot
\ncramps.<\/p>\n
\"Discussing the doubles, we decided not to play Suwandi
\nbecause he doesn't have a permanent partner. We also think that
\nHendri will not be ready to play both singles and doubles with
\npartner Febi Widhiyanto over three consecutive days.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore we named our veteran doubles team of Bonit and
\nSulistyo. They are more experienced, disciplined and consistent.
\nThey are physically and mentally strong and they can set a good
\nexample for the younger players.\"<\/p>\n
Sudjiono further defended Pelti's choice of Bonit and
\nSulistyo, saying the younger players were less disciplined.<\/p>\n
\"In a 1999 Satellite event here, I had to argue with the
\numpire because a young Indonesian player was 30 minutes late to
\nthe court for a match that should have began at 9:30 a.m. We did
\nnot announce it to the public, but Pelti officials just can't
\naccept such an attitude.\"<\/p>\n
Suwandi, Bonit and Sulistyo have signaled their willingness to
\nrepresent Indonesia in the Davis Cup match.<\/p>\n
\"We're still waiting for Hendri's response. If he refuses the
\noffer, we will ask Febi and should Febi also refuse we will try
\nto approach other players like Peter Handoyo, Andrian Raturandang
\nor even veteran Dede Suhendar,\" Sudjiono said.<\/p>\n
Nonplaying captain Tintus Arianto Wibowo said only Suwandi was
\nreally prepared for the match.<\/p>\n
\"This year alone, Suwandi competed in five Satellite and
\nFutures tournaments abroad, while others only trained at home.
\nSuwandi can compete abroad because he borrows money from Ibu
\nMartina Wijaya (Pelti's head of development, promotion and
\ninternational relations) to finance his trips.\"<\/p>\n
Tintus, a former national player, also said the players were
\nfree to choose their own coaches. \"It's OK for me if all the
\nplayers train together one week before the first match. They can
\nall train with their coaches.\" (ivy)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-to-retain-winning-davis-cup-team-1447893297",
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