PBSI says Sudirman Cup underlines deficiencies<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Sudirman Cup mixed team event reflects the
\ntrue badminton strength of a country. Indonesia has yet to reach
\nthe stage where it can dominate in the event because it is only
\nstrong on the men's side, while the women remain a weak link.<\/p>\n
This conclusion was, once again, announced by Badminton
\nAssociation of Indonesia (PBSI) training director Christian
\nHadinata on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The Sudirman Cup emphasizes five different events. Those
\nevents reflect the real strength of a badminton country. If we
\nare only strong in one event and weak in another, it shows that
\nthe development (of badminton) in our country is not good,\" he
\nsaid, adding that Indonesia is only strong in the men's singles
\nand doubles.<\/p>\n
The Sudirman Cup, staged for the first time in Jakarta in
\n1989, features men's and women's singles and men's, women's and
\nmixed doubles. Each participating country must compete in each of
\nthe five events.<\/p>\n
So far, only three countries have won the trophy. They are
\nIndonesia in 1989, South Korea in 1991 and 1993 and China in
\n1995, 1997 and 1999.<\/p>\n
In last month's Sudirman Cup, Indonesia failed to reach the
\nfinals for the second time after being defeated by host Denmark.
\nIndonesia won the men's doubles and mixed doubles but lost in the
\nwomen's and men's singles and the women's doubles.<\/p>\n
Denmark, which was attempting to become the first European
\ncountry to win the event, lost in the finals to defending
\nchampion China, which made history by becoming the first country
\nto win the event three times in a row.<\/p>\n
Christian said Indonesian shuttlers must work harder,
\nparticularly the women, to improve their skills before the
\ncountry can again win the event.<\/p>\n
\"There's no way we can win if we don't have key players in all
\nfive events,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Christian also said the Sudirman Cup, named after the former
\nPBSI chairman, was considered less prestigious than the Thomas or
\nUber Cups because the event was held in conjunction with the
\nWorld Championships.<\/p>\n
\"Somehow, some countries consider the Sudirman Cup a second-
\nclass event because they are focusing more on the World
\nChampionships, an individual event,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"As the architect of the Sudirman Cup, Indonesia has asked the
\nInternational Badminton Federation (IBF) to stage the event apart
\nfrom the World Championships,\" he said.<\/p>\n
During last month's Sudirman Cup, IBF distributed
\nquestionnaires to officials from participating countries, asking
\nif the Sudirman Cup and the World Championships should continue
\nto be held in conjunction or be separated.<\/p>\n
The questionnaires also asked officials about the
\nqualification format for the championships. Currently,
\nparticipating countries are divided into seven groups. The six
\nelite badminton countries -- China, Denmark, South Korea,
\nIndonesia, Sweden and England -- are in group I. Malaysia, which
\nwas in this group in the last championships, was relegated to
\ngroup II for this year's championships.<\/p>\n
Christian also said the participation of \"less powerful
\nbadminton countries\" showed great enthusiasm for the biennial
\nevent.<\/p>\n
\"It shows that they have a great interest to develop badminton
\nin their own countries. We can't find this in the Thomas Cup,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In the Thomas and Uber Cups, nonelite badminton countries must
\nfight their way through a qualifying round before they can take
\npart in the final round. (yan)<\/p>",
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