China predicts win over RI in Sudirman Cup

JAKARTA (JP): China predicted its victory over Indonesia at the Sudirman Cup semifinals Friday, coach Liu Yongbo said in Glasgow, Scotland, yesterday.

"We didn't pick our rivals in the semifinals. We just thought whoever it is we have to beat them to win the match," Liu told Antara after his team's 3-2 victory.

"Our motivation was to beat all rivals and bring home the Sudirman Cup," Liu said.

He said China did not discriminate between the top shuttlers and juniors in his team.

Liu said the key to his team's victory over Indonesia was the men's singles.

"Dong Jiong's win over Indonesia's Ardy B. Wiranata boosted our spirits and motivation. Besides, our women's doubles (Ge Fei/Gu Jun) always wins against Eliza/Zelin Resiana," he said.

"We have completed two tasks. The first was winning the group and the second the semifinals. Now we have to win the finals," he said.

Indonesia's Susi Susanti and Chandra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto won their matches but Eliza/Zelin deserve blame for their 20th loss to Ge/Gu.

One of Indonesia's team's officials Hadi Nazri, who had declined to be interviewed, finally said that Indonesia's badminton achievements were becoming fewer, especially among the young players.

"It's a challenge for the Badminton Association of Indonesia to generate shuttlers to play in future international events," he said.

The crisis is in men's and women's singles.

"In the men's singles, Indra Wijaya and Budi Santoso have yet to reach their peak while old hands Joko Suprianto, Alan Budikusuma and Ardy B. Wiranata's skills and stamina are decreasing," he said.

In the women's singles, none of the younger players are up to the standard of Susi Susanti and Mia Audina.

"The association must rearrange the regeneration system, not only for shuttlers but for coaches and officials too," he said.

The next Sudirman Cup and World Badminton Championships will be in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1999, said IBF vice president Justian Suhandinata in Glasgow.

A federation executive committee meeting at Moat House Hotel decided to stage the event in Copenhagen.

Denmark's capital will stage the biennial event for the second time. The first was in 1991.

"Sweden's Gothenburg also proposed holding the event," Justian said.

But the federation picked Copenhagen because it has more appropriate badminton facilities than Gothenburg.

"Besides, badminton is better known in Denmark than in Sweden," he said.

Gothenburg also proposed staging the Thomas and Uber Cup championships in 2000.

The Sudirman Cup was held for the first time in Jakarta in 1989. It went to Copenhagen, Denmark in 1991, to Birmingham, England in 1993, to Laussane, Switzerland in 1995 and to Glasgow this year.

Justian said the federation's decision to stage the Sudirman Cup championships in Europe and the Thomas and Uber Cup championships in Asia could be changed.

"It was a flexible decision. It is possible to change the championships' venue," he said.

Justian said the federation had not discussed separating the Sudirman Cup and the World Championships.

"We have yet to receive suggestions to separate the events," he said.

The federation agreed to unite the Sudirman Cup and the World Championships in 1989. At that time, the Sudirman Cup was rivaled by the Herbert Scheele Cup.

"I agreed with the unity under one condition, that the Sudirman Cup would receive the same publicity as the World Championships," he said.

Justian said the organizers had yet to change the publicity which focused on the World Championships. (yan)