Double glory boosts RI's Olympic quest

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's triumphant Thomas and Uber Cup teams are cutting short their victory celebrations to immediately resume their tough training regime for the Atlanta Olympic Games, which begin in July.

"All players will return to their preparations as usual next week, now that the Olympics are drawing near," Indonesian team manager Lutfi Hamid said in Hong Kong yesterday.

"We are only at 90 percent of our best since we started our preparations for this special season last February. Hopefully the players will reach their peak form during the Olympics," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

A warm welcome from National Sports Council Chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar and his staff is expected when the winning teams arrive here this evening.

Indonesia has set its sights on winning two gold medals in Atlanta, a target which now looks more realistic after convincing wins in the just-concluded world team championships in Hong Kong.

The country won two golds at the Barcelona Olympics four years ago, thanks to women's singles Susi Susanti and her fiancee Alan Budikusuma.

A Susi-led team clinched the Uber Cup crown for Indonesia, its third title since 1975, with a surprising 4-1 demolition of pre- tournament favorite and five-times winner China on Saturday. The joyous mood inspired Joko Suprianto and company to crush Denmark 5-0 for a record 10th Thomas Cup victory.

The double glory has put Indonesia back on track in the Olympic gold medal race after getting off to a shaky start this season. The All-England championships last March, which saw no Indonesian singles players reach the semifinals, seemed to confirm Indonesia's loosening grip on the badminton world.

"Our shuttlers have now regained their confidence after a poor spell in the past few months. That's what we need as we look ahead to another success," head coach Indra Gunawan said.

At Atlanta badminton is making its second Olympic appearance, with five gold medals up for grabs; in the men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and the mixed doubles.

Indonesia will parade 20 players in the five divisions, two less than China's Olympic team.

Joko will top the seeding list in the men's singles, as will Indonesia's ace doubles team of Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky in the men's doubles. China will dominate the women's event, with world champion Ye Zhaoying and the world's best pair of Ge Fei and Gu Jun leading the singles and doubles respectively.

Former badminton queen Ivanna Lie warned Indonesian players not to become overconfident about their chances in the Olympics.

"The Chinese trio of Dong Jiong, Sun Jun and Lin Liwen remain Indonesia's chief opponents in the men's singles," Ivanna said. She referred to Dong's and Sun's upset wins over world number one Joko and world champion Hariyanto Arbi respectively in their Thomas Cup group match.

"Denmark's Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen could also pose a clear danger to Joko and company," Ivana said of the Danish All-England champion.

Ivanna questioned whether Joko and Alan could overcome their age disadvantage during the grueling Olympic competition. Joko will turn 30 this October, while Alan is now 28.

"A player like Alan has undoubted skills, but he is not so quick as he was four years ago," Ivanna warned. Alan sailed through the 10-day Thomas Cup championship unbeaten but has yet to prove his caliber as he lacked real challenges, even in Sunday's final.

Ivanna was not too optimistic either about Susi's chances of retaining her Olympic laurels. "Susi, China's Ye Zhaoying and South Korea's Bang Soo-hyun have an equal chance to capture the gold medal," Ivanna said.

Susi avenged a string of losses to both her old nemesis en route to the Uber Cup victory.

Denmark remains Europe's best hope against Asia's apparent domination in the Olympics after its stroll into the Uber Cup semifinals and Thomas Cup final.

Poul-Erik said after completing a triple demolition of Asian badminton wizards by beating Dong in the Thomas Cup semifinals that he had cleared an uphill test heading for Atlanta. (amd)

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