Hariyanto to miss All England

JAKARTA (JP): Former world badminton men's singles champion Hariyanto Arbi said on Thursday he would skip the All-England championships in Birmingham, England, and opt for the subsequent Japan Open instead.

"I won't compete in the All-England. I'll go to the Japan Open in April. Why? Nothing...," he said, without elaborating.

Hariyanto is gearing up for the Grand Prix Finals in the Brunei capital of Bandar Seri Begawan from Feb. 24 to Feb. 28 after resting for over three months to nurse his back injury.

His coach, Agus Dwi Santoso, told The Jakarta Post that Hariyanto had been set to play a few tournaments this year, notably the Grand Prix Finals, the Japan Open in April, the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships and the World Championships. The last two events are scheduled to take place in Glasgow in May.

"Hari (as his friends call him) is getting older. It's difficult for him to compete in two consecutive tournaments without having an adequate recovery period. That's why we asked him to return to competition at least one month after the Grand Prix Finals," he said.

The All England will run in mid-March. Hariyanto won the tournament twice in 1993 and 1994 when it was held at Wembley. The 27-year-old player has been battling with both foot and back injuries in the past three years, costing him the old form that helped him win the 1995 World Championships.

Agus said Hariyanto had no injury problems ahead of his trip to Brunei.

Currently ranked 15th in the world, Hariyanto will make his seventh successive appearance in the Grand Prix Finals. The season-ending tournament was moved back from its original schedule in December to allow Asian players to don their national colors at the Asian Games.

Other than Hariyanto, world number five Hendrawan and number 10 Budi Santoso will represent Indonesia in Brunei. Only the world's top 16 are eligible for the event.

Agus said he has yet to decide if Hariyanto would join the national team for the Sudirman Cup and World Championships.

"It depends on his performance in Brunei and Japan," Agus said.

Separately, the Badminton Association of Indonesia deputy chief of athletes development affairs, Hadi Nazri, said that Hariyanto has been advised to be selective in choosing tournaments he wants to play due to his physical condition.

"Learning that he no longer is in top form, he must compete only in major tournaments," Hadi said. (yan)