Olympic champ looks to inspire W. Java at PON<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Palembang<\/p>\n
The 2004 men's singles Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat is
\nexpected to carry on his winning form in Athens when the West
\nJava men's badminton team begins its gold quest at the 2004
\nNational Games (PON) here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
West Java is in group A with North Sumatra, Central Java,
\nNorth Sulawesi and Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
\"Taufik will definitely play in the preliminary matches on
\nWednesday and we're counting on him to grab a gold for the team,\"
\nWest Java badminton team manager Herman Subarjah told The Jakarta
\nPost on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Taufik, whose impressive run earned Indonesia its only gold
\nmedal at the just-concluded Athens Olympics, will lead teammates
\nagainst North Sumatra and North Sulawesi in the opening-round
\nmatches.<\/p>\n
Taufik, ranked fourth in the world, will be the team's first
\nsingles player to take to court followed by former national
\nplayer Marleve Mainaky and Markus Wijanu.<\/p>\n
\"(Taufik) has already started practicing two days ago and he's
\nlooking forward to his first game,\" Herman said.<\/p>\n
The team also has an Olympic medalist in Flandy Limpele, but
\nthe North Sulawesi-born 30-year-old shuttler will not play with
\nhis medalist partner Eng Hian, instead pairing with Halim
\nHaryanto.<\/p>\n
Flandy and Eng Hian won the bronze in the men's doubles event
\nin Athens.<\/p>\n
When asked about the team's prospects in the competition,
\nHerman responded diplomatically. Most provinces were competitive
\nin badminton now that the national training center was made up of
\nshuttlers from outside Java.<\/p>\n
\"But I believe Jakarta, Central Java and East Java are
\nstronger than the other provinces,\" Herman said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta and East Java share places in Group B along with South
\nSumatra, Lampung and Banten.<\/p>\n
In the women's division, Herman rued that national shuttler
\nGreysia Polii could not take part in the Games representing the
\nWest Java province due to a dispute with North Sulawesi badminton
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
\"Officials from North Sulawesi have filed a protest against us
\nfor listing Greysia as our athlete, therefore, we can't let her
\nplay in the Games,\" Herman said.<\/p>\n
Herman said it was unfair for North Sulawesi to claim Greysia
\nas its athlete, as the Manado-born shuttler was listed as a
\nJakarta athlete before she was transferred to West Java.<\/p>\n
\"We only knew that she was a Jakarta athlete and her transfer
\nto West Java was according to the proper procedures,\" Herman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The loss of Greysia leaves Herman banking the team's medal
\nhopes on former national shuttlers Yuli Marfuah and Lidya
\nDjaelawidjaja.<\/p>\n
\"We also have Lita Nurlita in the team and we hope she will be
\nable to perform well in the competition,\" Herman said.<\/p>\n
The West Java women's shuttlers are in Group Q with Central
\nJava, South Sulawesi, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and
\nLampung, while group P consists of Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East
\nJava, Aceh and North Sulawesi.<\/p>",
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