Foreign shuttlers win in Bumiputera meet

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)