All England evaluation to be submitted
JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has requested its coaches to submit a detailed evaluation of Indonesian shuttlers' performances in the 2001 Yonex All England Open last week.
The PBSI set a target of a total of three titles in the men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles events but the shuttlers only managed the men's doubles title with Tony Gunawan and Halim Haryanto. The pair beat compatriots Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto in an all-Indonesian final.
"This detailed evaluation is important to review our failures so we can modify our training programs. We can't afford to make the same mistake twice," PBSI's training director Christian Hadinata told reporters on Wednesday at his office in the Indonesian Badminton Center (PBI) in Cipayung, East Jakarta.
"Based on the evaluation, we will also set a new priorities on which events to go for and which shuttlers deserve more chances to travel abroad," he added.
Christian also said that the All England was an intermediate target and that the PBSI had its eye on the more prestigious World Championships in Seville, Spain, in May.
"But still, the shuttlers should have done their best and not have been so easily sent packing like (men's singles shuttler) Taufik Hidayat was in the third round," he said.
"Taufik should have reached the semifinals or even the final against Pullela Gopichand of India," he added.
Taufik beat Gopichand in the semifinals of the JVC Asian Badminton Championship here last November and eventually won the title.
Christian also emphasized that most men's singles players were set to reach their peak performances in Seville instead of the All England.
"But again, they should have had better results."
In a related development, Syaiful Arisanto, the chairman of the Djarum badminton club from Kudus, Central Java, blamed lack of preparation for the shuttlers' poor performances in the All England, especially in the men's singles section.
"This failure proves that the PBSI didn't have a serious program of preparation for the All England. The shuttlers only had about two months of preparation," he said in Semarang Wednesday.
"Closing the Cipayung training center was not an appropriate solution because I can guarantee you that the shuttlers don't get proper training sessions in their hometowns," he added.
"The shuttlers who were to take part in the All England should have stayed in the center instead of returning home."
Syaiful said that the failure of the men's shuttlers was intolerable, particularly for a world-class player like Taufik.
"Hendrawan's failure is understandable because he was just getting married but the failures of the other men's singles shuttlers are not."
Meanwhile, the PBSI is still waiting for the International Badminton Federation (IBF) to find it seats on a flight from Bandar Seri Begawan to Tokyo as has been promised by the federation.
Indonesia will take part in the 2000 World Grand Prix finals in the capital of Brunei Darussalam and the Japan Open which will be hosted by Tokyo.
"The 2000 Grand Prix final in Bandar Seri Begawan will have its final match on the afternoon of April 1 while the flight to Tokyo leaves in the evening. The problem is that all the seats are booked," PBSI secretary general Leo Chandra Wiranata said over the phone.
"The next flight is on April 2 but the Japan Open starts the next day. It's too risky for the shuttlers. So far, the Chinese and Indonesian teams have both failed to get seats and it's the IBF's responsibility," he said. (nvn/har)