Foreign shuttlers win in Bumiputera meet

JAKARTA (JP): Teen shuttlers from Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, India and Denmark notched first-round wins over their minnow hosts on the first day of the Bumiputera Open Badminton Championships at Senayan Badminton Hall yesterday evening.

Until 6 p.m. yesterday, a string of foreign shuttlers' victories over the hosts seemed drawn out in the boy's singles under-18 competitions.

Frederik Kokler of Denmark routed Khairunas 15-1, 15-2. Vuren Kumar of India beat Tonny Kurniawan 15-7, 15-8. Yeoh Ksy Bin of Malaysia whipped Rahmat Novi 15-4, 15-2. Hung Yen Kuang of Chinese Taipei crushed Sariza 15-1, 15-0. Other Chinese Taipei's victories over locals included Chen Po Wei's 15-7, 15-7 win over Iwan Eko and Win Yi Yui's 15-9, 15-11 win over Hadi Prasetyo.

Other foreign shuttlers nailed walkover victories because their Indonesian opponents failed to appear.

These results left tournament director Supandi cold. "There is nothing special with the results," he said, "Of course the guests can beat our players easily because our players are of poorer quality." None of the defeated Indonesian players mentioned above come from well-known, established clubs such as Djarum Kudus or Bimantara Tangkas, otherwise the outcome would have differed.

Supandi pointed out that Roni Agustinus of Bimantara Tangkas who is seeded first in the championships, easily routed compatriot Taufik 15-1, 15-3.

"In the girls' singles, Yuli Marfuah is one of the best teen players we have," Supandi said. Perhaps that's why her club fielded her in the over-18 category. But she had to make an early exit after being trounced 11-6, 11-4 by Lenny Permana. "Of course, Lenny won because she is more experienced and trains in the Pratama national camp," Supandi said. The Pratama national camp is known for its strict quality training aimed at producing shuttlers for the future. (arf)