RI won't send sick athletes to England<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association of Indonesia will not
\nsend sick or unprepared athletes to the All England Badminton
\nChampionships, according to men's doubles coach Atik Djauhari.<\/p>\n
Atik said yesterday that Denny Kantono, who usually partners
\nAntonius in the third men's doubles would not compete at the
\nannual event in Birmingham, England, which runs from March 11 to
\nMarch 15, because he had influenza.<\/p>\n
"It's impossible to expect Denny to recover in less than one
\nweek. We prefer to replace him with Eng Hian, who usually
\npartners Hermono," he said. "Although Antonius has never
\npartnered Eng Hian in a tournament before but I'm sure they can
\ngel well."<\/p>\n
The association decided last week to replace world champion
\nSigit Budiarto, who usually partners Candra Wijaya, with Tony
\nGunawan due to Sigit having a problematic ulcer.<\/p>\n
"Sigit has recovered but he has a toothache now," Atik said.<\/p>\n
Candra\/Tony are competing at the Swedish Open from March 4 to
\nMarch 8 before joining the national squad in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
The association has been preparing Hariyanto Arbi, Budi
\nSantoso, Indra Wijaya, Hendrawan and Ardy B. Wiranata in the
\nmen's singles and Susi Susanti, Mia Audina and Meiluawati in the
\nwomen's singles.<\/p>\n
Candra\/Tony, Ricky Subagja\/Rexy Mainaky and Antonius\/Eng Hian
\nwill compete in the men's doubles, Elyza\/Zelin Resiana, Deyana
\nLomban\/Indarti Issoliana in the women's doubles and Bambang
\nSupriyanto\/Risyeu Rosalina and Tri Kusharjanto\/Minarti Timur in
\nthe mixed doubles.<\/p>\n
Three managers, Indra Gunawan, Imelda Wiguna and Atik
\nDjauhari, will accompany the athletes, who leave for the
\nchampionships tomorrow.<\/p>\n
The association's athletes development director, Mangombar
\nFerdinand Siregar, said that the All England would be the best
\ntest of other countries' strength for the Thomas and Uber Cup
\nchampionships in Hong Kong in May.<\/p>\n
Hariyanto, seeded sixth at the All England, said that he hoped
\nto reach the final and saw Danish and Chinese shuttlers as his
\ntoughest rivals. He only reached last year's semifinals.<\/p>\n
"China's Sun Jun and Dong Jiong and Dane Poul-Erik Hoyer-
\nLarsen will be my toughest rivals at the championships," said
\nHariyanto, who aims to win his third title at the event.<\/p>\n
Men's doubles player Rexy said that he and Ricky hoped to win
\ntheir third title.<\/p>\n
"It will be a great moment for me if I can win this year
\nbefore I retire," he said, declining to mention when this might
\nbe.<\/p>\n
The association's chairman, Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo, expressed
\nhis hope that the shuttlers would evaluate their failures in
\nprevious tournaments to ensure perfect performances at the All
\nEngland.<\/p>\n
"We can't lose because of unforced errors, it's better if we
\nlose because our opponents are better," said Subagyo, who is also
\nthe Army Chief of Staff.<\/p>\n
Subagyo said the association was working on internal
\nregulations at the National Badminton Center in Cipayung to deal
\nwith undisciplined athletes' punishment.<\/p>\n
"The regulations will also be applied when athletes compete in
\ntournaments under the supervision of team managers and coaches,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Subagyo said the association hoped Japanese sports equipment
\nmanufacturer and main sponsor Yonex would pay its contract in
\nU.S. dollars due to the association's need to send athletes to
\ntournaments abroad.<\/p>\n
Yonex has a US$1 million annual contract with the association
\nand hands over $250,000 every quarter. (yan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-wont-send-sick-athletes-to-england-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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