Indonesia hopes for three titles at home
Indonesia hopes for three titles at home
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The season-closing US$170,000 Djarum Indonesia Open Badminton Championship begins here on Wednesday with host nation Indonesia hoping to win three titles.
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) chairman Sutiyoso said on Tuesday he expected fourth seed Taufik Hidayat, men's doubles pair Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto and mixed doubles pair Nova Widhiyanto/Lilyana Natsir to come away with titles.
"We have a great chance to win titles in those categories," Sutiyoso, also Jakarta governor, said here on Tuesday.
"Taufik surprised us with his Olympic gold in Athens and I hope he can carry on with that winning form here at home. We also hope the reunited pair Candra and Sigit, and the mixed doubles pair of Nova and Lilyana will win in their categories," he said.
He promised to give Indonesian shuttlers who won titles at the Indonesia Open bonuses equal to their official cash prizes.
"We started to give bonuses only to the winners of four-star- or-above tournaments since the China Open this year," he said.
The five-star Indonesia Open will feature five categories: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
A total of US$13,600 in cash prizes will be given away in the men's singles, $11,730 in women's singles, $12,240 in men's doubles, $10,370 in women's doubles and $10,370 in mixed double.
There will be 294 shuttlers, consisting of 171 men and 123 women, from 16 countries, including Indonesia, participating in the tournament, which began on Monday with the qualifying round.
Indonesia is fielding the largest number of shuttlers with 173, including 39 from the national team. Malaysia will field 30 shuttlers and China 25.
South Korea will rest its hopes on nine shuttlers, while Denmark, France, Russia, New Zealand will be competing with one player each.
The organizing committee announced that Xia Xuanze of China, who would have been seeded sixth, and mixed doubles pair Ong Ewe Hock/Madukasan Sutheaswari of Malaysia have withdrawn from the tournament.
Defending champion Taufik will face a tough challenge in world number one and tournament top seed Lin Dan of China in his bid for his fifth Indonesia Open title.
The Olympic champion won titles in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003. Indonesia's men's singles players have won the tournament each of the past five years, with Marleve Mainaky triumphing in 2001.
On Wednesday, Lin Dan will play Yeoh Kay Bin of Malaysia, while Taufik Hidayat will meet qualifier Sigit Wahyudi of Indonesia.
In the men's doubles, the host nation won the title in 1999 with Ricky Subagja/Rexy Mainaky, and with Candra/Sigit in 2000 and 2001.
In the mixed doubles, Indonesia won the title in 1999 with Tri Kusharjanto/Minarti Timur, in 2001 with Tri Kusharjanto/Emma Ernawati and in 2002 with Bambang Supriyanto/Minarti Timur.
While Indonesia enters the tournament with great hope in the men's categories, the women's prospects are not as promising. Lidya Djaelawidjaja was the last Indonesian to win the women's singles title back in 1999, while Deyana Lomban/Vita Marissa were the last Indonesians to win the doubles title in 2001.