Dutch shuttler Mia hopes to shine in Olympics

JAKARTA (JP): Former Indonesian Uber Cup team starlet Mia Audina has matured, both in technical skills and attitude.

Badminton fans remember the then 14-year-old Mia becoming the country's heroine after defeating Zhang Ning of China to help Indonesia win its first Cup title in 19 years at the Senayan Indoor Stadium in 1994.

Now, Mia is back in town hoping to recapture her past glory and hopefully move closer to her ultimate goal of winning gold at the Olympic Games in Sydney in September -- as a Dutch player.

At the 1996 Olympics, Mia, then representing Indonesia, reached the final only to lose to Bang Soo-hyun of South Korea. "I don't want to repeat that mistake. I don't want to win another silver. I want the gold."

Early this year, Mia beat world number one Camilla Martin of Denmark in the Taiwan Open.

In the Sanyo Indonesia Open this year, Mia aims to repeat her 1998 performance and win the title. "I have very tough rivals here, including Camilla, Kanako Yonekura of Japan and Zeng Yaqiong of China," she said during a media conference after making quick work of Indonesia's Budiani in the first round of the tournament. She will next face Zeng.

Last year, Mia sparked controversy when she decided to move to the Netherlands following her marriage to Surinamese Tylio Lobman, a gospel singer.

For Mia, the move turned out to be a valuable lesson. She is very independent in Rotterdam, where she lives in an apartment with Lobman and drives her own car to the stadium for practice. The situation is quite different from Indonesia, where she spent her days at the Indonesian Badminton Center dormitory in Cipayung, East Jakarta. Her air-conditioned room there was just steps away from the training hall.

"I have to struggle to do well in the Netherlands. No one forces me to train, but it comes from inside because I want to go farther," she said.

Mia explained she had a difficult time after Susi Susanti retired last year due to her pregnancy and Liang Chiusia took over the coaching duties from Retno Kustiyah.

"It's very hard to adapt to a new coach because she was technically different from Retno. Retno is more offensive while Chiusia is more defensive. I was unable to balance both skills. To make things worse, all the burdens were laid on my shoulders after Susi's retirement.

"I was still very young and confused at the time and nobody could understand my situation. I told them that I needed time to cope with everything. Apparently when the time came, I was already in the Netherlands."

Mia, who was born in Jakarta in 1979, said she misses Indonesian food, especially pempek Palembang.

"Food in Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands tastes different from the food here. I think I cook better myself," she said with a laugh. (yan)