Deyana may or may not quit Asiad
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Sandry Liong, a wushu martial arts hopeful, is most likely to abandon his dream of participating in the Asian Games, and the Indonesian contingent is facing another exit with female shuttler Deyana Lomban threatening to quit.
Deyana, a doubles specialist with Vita Marissa, announced her withdrawal from the badminton team for the Asian Games after her elimination at the early stages of the Indonesian Open in Surabaya, East Java, at the end of last month.
The fate of Sandry has also been hanging in the balance, after he sustained a backbone injury during his tour of China and a local doctor claimed he would need at least one month to recover.
Different from Sandry's case, it appears that emotional fatigue is plaguing Deyana, who has many times represented Indonesia in international tournaments.
The 26-year-old Deyana was reported to have been complaining about the pressure of being criticized as unworthy for the Asian Games after her loss to the Thai pairing of Saralee Thungthongkam and Sujitra Ekmongkolpaisarn in Surabaya.
Deyana met chef de mission Rudolf S. Warouw at the headquarters of the National Sports Council (KONI) here on Wednesday.
But KONI was still undecided about Deyana's intention to quit.
"Give us another one or two days to think about it," Warouw, who is also KONI secretary-general, told reporters after his one- hour face-to-face talk with the athlete.
Warouw reluctantly wanted to send a message that no member was confirmed to be left behind when he said:" The number (of the athletes for the Busan trip) is still intact ... one hundred."
He said that he had invited Deyana more to console her after media reports that she had been at odds with the officials of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).
"Everyone has problems. I told her to just loosen up and calm down," he said, adding that he still was optimistic for Deyana's prospects in Busan.
Unable to conceal the trace of tears, Deyana said little about her intention to quit the team.
"I can say nothing. Please ask Pak Warouw," she reiterated many times. But she shied away from the topic of her intention to quit.
With a host of reporters following her, she rushed down the lift and left the building to meet teammates Yuli Marfuah and Jo Novita.
In a teleconference with PBSI chairman Chairul Tanjung, held later, it turned out that Deyana was rated as having little prospect of winning a medal in Busan.
"The chances will be very slim," he said, adding that Deyana might be number one in the country, but she would be struggling against her Asian peers.