RI shuttlers head for Birmingham<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's top shuttlers left here for
\nBirmingham on Saturday, vowing to give their best at this week's
\n2001 Yonex All England Open.<\/p>\n
While some have been dispatched with specific orders to go for
\nglory, others will go with the hope of achieving personal best
\nresults.<\/p>\n
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has set a target
\nof bringing home three titles -- the men's singles, men's doubles
\nand mixed doubles -- from the four-star event, which will get
\nunderway on Wednesday at the National Indoor Arena in the
\nnorthern England city.<\/p>\n
Interviewed separately at the Indonesian Badminton Center in
\nCipayung, East Jakarta, the shuttlers said they were ready to
\ndeliver their best performances.<\/p>\n
Men's doubles pair Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian said their
\nfirst-seeding in Birmingham would not affect their game.<\/p>\n
\"We'll just go out there and play. We don't think too much
\nabout our top seeding. We don't want it to become a burden,\" Eng
\nHian told reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"Flandy and I have set a target of reaching the semifinals.
\nBut, of course, we want to grab the title,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The pair receives a first-round bye and will open their
\ncampaign in the second round against Malaysia's Chew Choong Eng
\nand Chan Chong Ming of Malaysia, who also get a first-round bye.<\/p>\n
If things go according to plan, the Indonesian pair will play
\nDenmark's Thomas Hovgaard and Mathias Bose in the third round and
\nanother Danish pair, seventh-seeded Michael Lamp and Jonas
\nRasmussen, in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Sydney Olympics gold medalist Tony Gunawan, who has been
\npaired with Halim Haryanto in Birmingham, did not want to
\ndisclose his target. The new partnership is unseeded in the
\ntournament, but it would be wrong for their opponents to
\nunderestimate them.<\/p>\n
\"Of course we want to win the title, but because we are a new
\nteam, we have to establish our ranking first,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have a commitment among the men's doubles pairs that one
\nof us must come home with the title, whoever that is,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Tony and Halim face Chris Davies and Matthew Hughes of Wales
\nin the first round, and are likely to meet Danes Janek Roos and
\nJoachim Fischer Nielsen in the second round, followed by fifth-
\nseeds Simon Archer and Nathan Robertson of England in the third
\nround.<\/p>\n
Assuming they win all their matches, they should meet fourth-
\nseeded Martin Lundgaard and Lars Paaske of Denmark in the
\nquarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's hopes for the men's singles title still lies with
\nTaufik Hidayat, runner-up in the last two All England
\ntournaments.<\/p>\n
Hopes for third time lucky, however, have been tempered by the
\nfact that the Birmingham draw is almost identical to that of the
\n2000 Sydney Olympics, where Taufik was ousted in the
\nquarterfinals by Ji Xinpeng, who subsequently won the gold medal.<\/p>\n
\"This is like a replay of the Games,\" Taufik's coach Mulyo
\nHandoyo told the Jakarta Post. \"I hope Taufik will give his best
\nthis year,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Women's singles shuttler Lidya Djaelawijaya said on Saturday
\nthat she hoped to reach the last eight this year. But she
\nrealizes that she faces a big hurdle in the very first round
\nagainst Kelly Morgan of Wales.<\/p>\n
\"She (Morgan) has defeated me in both of our two encounters,\"
\nLidya told the Post over the phone on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"But I have learned my lessons. I have to be more careful and
\nprecise. I will fight to the end.\"<\/p>\n
Last year, Lidya lost to China's Zhang Ning in the second
\nround after receiving a bye in the first.<\/p>\n
If she overcomes Morgan in the first round this year, her
\nopponent in the second round will be the winner of a clash
\nbetween the Netherlands' Karina de Witt and Japan's Miho Tanaka.<\/p>\n
In the third round, her likely opponent will be eighth-seed
\nMarina Andrievskaya of Sweden while fourth-seed Gong Ruina of
\nChina will be her likely opponent in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Yuli Marfuah, another Indonesian women's singles player, who
\nhas been embroiled in a row with PBSI executives, promised to
\nplay her best in her debut at this prestigious event.<\/p>\n
\"This is my first, and maybe last, participation in the All
\nEngland. I just want to perform my best. My target is not to be
\ndefeated in the first round, that's all,\" she told the Post.<\/p>\n
\"My first opponent is Gao Yuan (Scotland). I've never heard of
\nor met her, so I don't know her style. I'll just field my best,\"
\nshe added.<\/p>\n
Yuli considered pulling out of the tournament last week when
\nPBSI ruled that she had to pay her own way to Birmingham.<\/p>\n
\"It seemed that PBSI didn't want to send me. Fortunately,
\ntheir stance wasn't absolute,\" Yuli said, referring to the fact
\nthe PBSI reversed their original decision.<\/p>\n
She said she would talk with PBSI executive director Karsono
\non her return from England. \"For now, I want to concentrate on my
\ngame,\" she said. (nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-shuttlers-head-for-birmingham-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}