Badminton 2nd stringers to warm up in KL, Bangkok

Badminton 2nd stringers to warm up in KL, Bangkok

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian second stringer shuttlers, who are
being groomed for the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei
Darussalam in August, will warm up at the Malaysia and Thailand
Open tournaments.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has from
Wednesday to Friday been staging a three-day selection round to
select the competitors in both Grand Prix series events.

PBSI has submitted 14 names to the National Sports Council
(KONI).

"But the names still can be changed, depending on the results
of the selection. If our nominee fails, we must replace him or
her with another player," said the national training director,
Christian Hadinata, at the National Badminton Center in Cipayung,
East Jakarta, on Thursday.

The 14 shuttlers are men's singles Jeffer Rosobin, Ronny
Agustinus, Johan Hadikusuma, men's doubles specialists Flandy
Limpele, Eng Hian, Agung Wahyu and Halim Heryanto, women's
singles Ellen Angelina, Meiluawati and Yuli Marfuah and women's
doubles specialists Etty Tantri, Cynthia Tuwankotta, Vita Marissa
and Emma Ermawati.

Christian said the women's and men's doubles players must also
play in the mixed doubles event.

"There's no other way because we have a quota on each
participating country," he said.

To win the berths to compete in Malaysia and Thailand, the
three SEA Games men's singles candidates will have to fight with
three contenders, Indra Wijaya, Yudi Suprayogi and Irwansyah for
three tickets to both tournaments. Yudi will likely have to bury
his dream of playing as he injured his ankle during the round-
robin match against Jeffer on Thursday.

In the women's singles, the three nominees, Yuli, Meiluawati
and Ellen, must compete with Lidya Djaelawidjaja to take two
tickets to Malaysia and Thailand. Cindana will definitely play in
the series.

The five-star Malaysia Open will take place from June 30 to
July 4, while the four-star Thailand Open starts on July 7 and
ends on July 11.

Jeffer praised PBSI's decision to send its second stringers to
a multisports event such as the SEA Games.

"This is a good opportunity because we have our responsibility
to show that we can also perform our best. I'm ready to become
the team's backbone as I think I have enough experience in team
events," said Jeffer, a member of the Asia Cup team here in 1997.

Jeffer named Malaysian shuttlers Ong Ewe Hock, Yong Hock Kin,
Wong Choon Han and Roslin Hashim as the toughest rivals.

"Our chances are 50-50. I have beaten Hock Kin, Ewe Hock and
Choon Han but I have never met Roslin. Hopefully I can contribute
one gold to Indonesia's contingent," he said.

Women's singles coach Liang Chiusia said the only strong
contender for Indonesia's women would be Sujitra
Eakmongkolpaisarn from Thailand.

"Sujitra's defense is really good. Our shuttlers must force
her to rally from the baseline before counterattacking.
Otherwise, she will control the ball. We can also take advantage
of her weak physical condition. But she's a dark horse for our
athletes," she said.

Chiusia also criticized her athletes, saying that Meiluawati,
a member of the Asian Games team, was stiff in her strokes and
that Ellen, who played in the Sudirman Cup team, must reduce her
weight to move faster.

Women's doubles Cynthia complained that she lost her power due
to a lack of weight training during the Sudirman Cup and World
Championships in Copenhagen last month.

"We stayed for three weeks and after we lost we only ran to
maintain our physical condition. I'm concentrating to increase my
power," she said.

"Etty and I will do our best in the SEA Games although it's
our first experience. But we have competed in so many events, I
think it's time for us to take the responsibility," she said.

Christian said some key players would also go to Malaysia, and
that PBSI told them to aim to win the event.

"We just lost in two major tournaments. It's really important
for us to win a title in a Grand Prix series. If we continue to
fail, it's really hard for us to get back on our feet again."
(yan)