Hepatitis forces Edy out of Davis Cup play-off
Hepatitis forces Edy out of Davis Cup play-off
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's Davis Cup campaign against China this week hit a last minute snag after doubles ace Eddy Kusdaryanto tested positive for hepatitis A.
Eddy, whose partnership with Suwandi earned Indonesia a consolation win against South Korea in February, will have to take a two-week rest following the discovery last Friday and miss the crucial matches, scheduled from Friday to Sunday at the Senayan tennis stadium.
Deputy secretary of the Indonesian Tennis Association, Subianto, said yesterday that the association's top-level decision makers had agreed to sideline the 20-year-old player from the team.
"We don't want to see Eddy's illness worsen," Subianto said.
Non-playing captain Wailan Walalangi said that Eddy's exit will be confirmed before the draw on Thursday. Wailan added that he was considering Sebastian da Costa as a potential substitute for Eddy.
"There is no change in our team line-up despite the laboratory finding. Sebastian is joining us as a stand-in if Eddy fails to play," Wailan said.
Indonesia has named Suwandi, Andrian Raturandang, Donny Susetyo and Eddy for this weekend's Davis Cup play-off. They suffered a 1-4 drubbing by South Korea and now meet China, a 1-4 loser to New Zealand, for a place in next year's Asia-Oceania zone qualifying round.
China arrived here on Sunday with a full team made up of two- time Asian Games gold medalist Pan Bing, Xia Jiaping, Zhao Jinhua and Lu Ling.
Eddy, who attended yesterday's training session as a spectator, said that he has been infected with the disease since he was a child. "I was easily exhausted during recent training sessions, but I never complained," he said.
Subianto denied any possibility of a poor diet in Eddy's case. "The doctor says that Eddy could suffer a relapse," he said.
Coach Deddy Prasetyo said last week that after four weeks of training, his players are showing improved physical fitness.
The Chinese players yesterday got acquainted with the Senayan clay court, the venue for the Davis Cup duel.
"We are not used to playing on clay, and the hot weather could trouble us. Our chances of winning look 50-50," coach He Dongpo said.
Pan led China to a 4-1 rout of Indonesia in their last Davis Cup encounter in Beijing four years ago, but said he expected a tough match this time. (amd)