Badminton association told to evaluate its failure

JAKARTA (JP): National Sports Council (KONI) chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar called on officials of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) to ponder its athletes' failure in the Sudirman Cup and World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 9 through May 23.

"Take a lesson from this failure and evaluate everything that needs improvement," he said after receiving the badminton contingent at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday.

In a simple ceremony to mark the athletes' homecoming, Wismoyo and PBSI executive chairman Karsono placed garlands of flowers around the necks of deputy team manager and head coach Christian Hadinata and official Hadi Nazri.

Wismoyo also told the shuttlers not to lose spirit even though they failed to bring back the Sudirman Cup and earn titles in the World Championships.

The failure, he said, should become the biggest motivation for the shuttlers to improve their training.

"The most important thing is our attitude toward the failure. We shouldn't drown in deep disappointment," Wismoyo was quoted by Antara as saying.

Indonesia failed to reach the finals of the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships for the second straight year after losing 2-3 in the semifinals to home favorite Denmark. The trophy eventually went to defending champion China after it defeated Denmark 3-1 in a dramatic final. The organizers dropped the women's doubles match.

It blamed its failure on the short period of intensive training and a number of injuries which plagued the team.

Christian said after the final match that some young players, including men's single Taufik Hidayat and the women's doubles team of Deyana Lomban and Indarti Isolina, could not overcome the pressure of playing in front of a hostile crowd.

In the World Championships, none of Indonesia's shuttlers appeared in the semifinal match at Brondby Hall.

Christian pointed out that the performance of Indonesia's shuttlers was declining. He admitted that he had ignored the progress made by many countries, which blurred his analysis on their strengths.

He pledged to find a better way to groom shuttlers for the Thomas and Uber Cups and the Olympic Games next year.

Speaking on the need to review coaches' capabilities, Christian said on Monday that he did not think they should be replaced following their failure, but instead suggested they improve their coaching skills.

"Don't make a quick judgment based on this failure. The coaches succeeded in grooming shuttlers and made them champions in the Asian Games and the All England. The current coaches are good. We need evaluation, our achievements were noted by other countries," he said.

During the ceremony, mixed double player Ricky Subagja said his team had tried in both championships but fortune was apparently not on their side.

"We did not lose effortlessly. We fought our best, but maybe we are not lucky," said Ricky, who with partner Rexy Mainaky lost to Korean pair Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung in the World Championships.

He vowed to try his best in following events, such as the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam in August and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. (ivy)