Dutch shuttler Mia hopes to shine in Olympics

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)