Hendri withdraws from Davis Cup team
JAKARTA (JP): Men's tennis player Hendri Susilo Pramono confirmed his withdrawal from Indonesia's Davis Cup team only a week away from the tie.
The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) immediately invited three others players -- Andrian Raturandang, Febi Widhiyanto and Suhendar Dinata -- to join the team, but they have yet to approve the invitation. The deadline is on Friday.
Indonesia will face Uzbekistan in the Davis Cup Group I Asia Oceania zone tie from Feb. 9 to Feb. 11 at the Kemayoran Tennis Center. Indonesia will field top men's player Suwandi as the first singles contestant and the veteran doubles pair, Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo.
Hendri pointed out on Thursday that the bad treatment he had received from the Pelti official in charge of athletes development, Sudjiono Timan, was the main reason for his withdrawal.
Sudjiono rebuked Hendri for skipping practices at Ragunan on Wednesday morning.
Hendri said non-playing captain Tintus Arianto Wibowo had invited him to come to Ragunan to play with hostess Martina Widjaja, Pelti's head of development, promotion and international relations. But Hendri thought it wasn't an occasion for serious training.
"Pak Tintus asked me on Tuesday to play at Ragunan. I thought it wasn't a practice session, because the official practice time for the team is Thursday morning at Kemayoran Tennis Center. So I didn't show up," he said.
On Wednesday evening, Hendri met Sudjiono at Bung Karno tennis complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Sudjiono promptly lambasted him.
"He said if I didn't want to play, I shouldn't play for the team. I felt offended by his outburst. I came to Kemayoran this morning (Thursday) to seek clarification."
"Pak Udjin (Sudjiono's nickname) apologized for Wednesday's incident. But my heart is already hurt. He can't blame me before understanding the reason. I think I did the right thing because there isn't normally a practice session on Wednesday. Even Bonit and Sulistyo didn't show up that day."
He also said that the atmosphere had sapped him of his motivation to play in the team. Therefore, he submitted his resignation letter.
"I'm disappointed because I can't join the team. But I think Pelti officials can learn a lesson from this incident, so they don't readily accuse somebody without evidence again. They should also try to build up good communication and rapport with the players," he said.
Febi, who off the court is Hendri's best friend, said he is likely to refuse the call despite his desire to perform in the Davis Cup tie.
"If I don't feel comfortable with the atmosphere whilst playing, I would rather refuse to play. To tell you the truth, I'm 60 percent sure that I will not join the team," he said.
Dede, Suhendar's nickname, said separately that he was ready to join the team if nobody else was willing to.
"If others refuse to perform in the Davis Cup tie and I'm the only one left, I will have no other choice. But I'm ready to play if I decide to join the team," he said.
Andrian could not be reached for comment.
The Uzbekistan contingent arrived on Tuesday to allow enough time for acclimatization. The contingent comprises of players Oleg Ogorodov, Vadim Kutsenko, Dmitriy Tomashevich, Dmitriy Mazur, non-playing captain Abdukhamid Makhkamov, coach Mojmir Mihal. The contingent also had a supporting team consisting of five reporters. (ivy)