Badminton `dream team' strike fear in opponents
Badminton `dream team' strike fear in opponents
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AFP): Ardy Wiranata and Susi Susanti have such an aura of invincibility about them that opponents have given up hope even before the world-class Asian Games badminton starts today.
As well as the world number one male and female player, Indonesia also has the men's number two Joko Suprianto, number three Hariyanto Arbi and number four Hermawan Susanto.
The world's top two doubles teams -- Bambang Suprianto-Rudy Gunawan and Ricky Subagja-Rexy Mainaky -- also carry the hopes of Indonesia's badminton crazy 180 million people.
So rich is their talent that the world's fifth-ranked player, Alan Budikusuma -- Susanti's boyfriend -- could not find a place in badminton's "dream team."
Former world champion Li Yongbo, coach of China's men's team, the defending Asian Games champion, said it was futile for any one to think of upsetting Indonesia.
"They should win all the men's titles," Li said, testifying to China's lost supremacy in the sport it dominated until the 1990 Asian Games.
In Beijing, the Chinese were lifted by raucous home crowds on their way to both the men's and women's team titles as well as the singles. They won six out of the seven badminton golds.
But those heydays when Yang Yang and Zhao Jianhua were at the peak of their illustrious careers are long past, and coach Li, 31, admitted that finding their successors had been difficult.
China's rebuilding process, however, is picking up momentum under a squad of new, young coaches, Li said, adding that it would not be long before China get back to winning ways. But it will have to wait until after Hiroshima.
In the last two years, the Indonesians have taken every top international competition. The men this year won back the Thomas Cup, symbol of supremacy in men's team badminton, for the first time in 10 years.
The absence of Rashid Sidek in the Malaysian team has smoothened their path to the titles further.
Four golds
Indonesia confidently expect four golds -- the men's team and singles, men's doubles and the women's singles for Susanti, who is in Hiroshima looking for the only crown that has eluded her.
The slender 23-year-old Susanti's tenacious game has worn all opponents down. She won the Olympic gold in 1992, has also taken four all-England titles since 1990, two World Cup and two Grand Prix titles.
"This event is important for me because this is the one major title that I have never won," said Susanti, who lost to defending champion Tang Jiuhong of China in the Beijing Asiad.
Indonesian women's shuttlers also won the Uber Cup, the equivalent of the Thomas Cup, this year at home when they ended China's run of five consecutive titles. But they will face a tough challenge here from the Chinese and the Koreans.
The Chinese, who have brought back Tang to strengthen her squad, are thirsting for revenge for the Uber Cup loss by a narrow 2-3 margin. They believe they can spoil the Indonesian's singles dream as well.
Chinese coach Li said 20-year-old Ye Zhaoying, known for her fast attacking game, could stop Susanti. "China, Korea, Indonesia all have a 50-50 chance in the women's section," he said.
The past masters' best bet for the honors is the mixed doubles which they missed in 1990. They have entered Asian Cup holders Liu Jiangjun-Ge Fei and World Cup champions Chen Xingdong-Gu Jun.