Elite shuttlers to star in national championships

Elite shuttlers to star in national championships

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The country's elite players dominate the seedings at the 2001
National Badminton Individual Championships at Bung Karno
Badminton Stadium, which starts on Tuesday.

The week-long championships will be the first major event at
national level to use the new best-of-five seven points scoring
system. Earlier in August, the Badminton Association of
Indonesia's (PBSI) West Java chapter adopted the scoring format
for the Samsung-SGS Badminton Circuit.

PBSI secretary-general Leo Chandra Wiranata said the incoming
tournament was mandatory for elite players who were being groomed
at the badminton center.

"Although they will represent their own chapters, the chapters
are allowed to field extra players," Leo said.

Central Java, East Java, West Java and Jakarta chapters have
been allotted a maximum quota of 21 shuttlers, while other
chapters have got 13 shuttlers.

The championships will feature senior and U-19 categories.
Most of the elite shuttlers, regardless of their age, will play
in the senior category.

Leo said the organizers would impose stricter regulations to
avoid competitors from cheating about their age in the youth
division by requesting that participants show their original
birth certificates or elementary school diplomas to an age-
verifying team to prove that they were born in or after 1983.

"The team will use other means to verify the age of
participants if they are not satisfied with the certificates
presented," he added.

Representing West Java, Indonesia's top shuttler Taufik
Hidayat, who has quit the national squad, is the senior men's
singles seed, while world champion Hendrawan is seeded 16th.
Second stringers Johan Hadikusuma and Budi Santoso are seventh
and 12th respectively.

Members of the national badminton center dominate the seedings
in the youth category, with Anggun Nugroho ranked second,
Ardiansyah third and Jakarta-based Taufiq Hidayat fourth. Markis
Kido is sixth, Sony Dwi Kuncoro 10th and Wimpie Mawardi 11th.

In the senior women's singles, Atu Rosalina tops the seeding,
while Yuli Marfuah is a low 16th. Veteran Chindana Hartono is
seeded fifth.

Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto top the men's doubles
seeding, so do their female counterparts Minarti Timur and Vita
Marissa in the women's doubles. Danish Open champions Bambang
Supriyanto and Emma Ermawati have been awarded the top seed in
the mixed doubles competition.