Indonesia to call top shuttlers for SEA Games
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is demanding yet more from its best badminton players in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next month, despite mounting advice that the roles be given to junior shuttlers.
Secretary general of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) Leo Chandra Wiranata asserted on Monday that the country's top badminton players should be called up for the event in Kuala Lumpur if Indonesia wishes to win five out of the seven gold medals there.
"We must field our strongest shuttlers in order to secure five gold medals, as demanded by the National Sports Council (KONI). Competition among participating countries is already tough," Leo told reporters.
"Even our strongest team will find it difficult to produce a clean sweep because Malaysia is strong in the men's event, as well as Thailand in the women's category.
"Besides, our junior shuttlers are not ready yet to take over such a demanding job in the games. They need several more years to develop," he added.
Leo also said that sending a second-string team might discourage KONI's target, which is expecting to see Indonesia restore its pride.
PBSI has yet to announce its team lineup. A participating country is allowed to send eight men and eight women shuttlers to compete in seven individual and team events.
"Actually, I have already proposed the names but I must give them to PBSI chairman Subagyo Hadisiswoyo for approval. I will announce it on Tuesday," said Leo.
Earlier, PBSI official for athlete development, Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar suggested that PBSI would exclude world number three Taufik Hidayat and world champion Hendrawan.
"Hendrawan needs a rest after the World Championships and the birth of his daughter. Meanwhile, Taufik still has to regain his physical fitness," Siregar said.
With Taufik and Hendrawan out and no juniors included, PBSI will most probably name second-tier shuttlers such as Budi Santoso, Johan Hadikusuma and Rony Agustinus for the men's singles event.
In the men's doubles, PBSI looks likely to stick to world champions Tony Gunawan and Halim Heryanto and Indonesian Open winners Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto.
In the women's singles, PBSI has no choice other than to field Lidya Djaelawidjaya, Yuli Marfuah and Chindana Hartono, with Atu Rosalina being the reserve.
Grand Prix
Hendrawan is playing in the US$250,000 Grand Prix finals in the capital of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, which will start on Wednesday, despite a spate of problems standing between him and the title.
"After testing the venue this morning, I found the air conditioner affected the movement of the shuttlecock," he told The Jakarta Post from Brunei by phone.
He admitted that he remained accustomed to the new scoring system, which requires a shuttler to play a best-of-five match, with each game ending at 7 points. Under the old format badminton players contest a best-of-three match with the normal game finishing at 15 points.
Another major obstacle for Hendrawan is the fact that he cannot fully concentrate on the tournament as his daughter, Josephine Sevilla, has been placed in an incubator after her premature birth on July 25.
"I will not be able to fully concentrate until I know that my daughter has been safely removed from the incubator," he said.
Hendrawan will meet Anders Boesen of Denmark in the first round-robin men's singles match in Group B. Indonesia has also fielded Budi Santoso in Group A and Marlev Mainaky in Group C. Meanwhile, Ellen Angelina will play in the women's singles Group A and Lidya Djaelawidjaya is in Group C.
Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medalists Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan are competing in the men's doubles Group B, while Halim Haryanto and Sigit Budiarto are in Group A. (nvn)