Indonesia's top shuttlers out of form

Indonesia's top shuttlers out of form

JAKARTA (JP): With the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta
drawing nearer, Indonesian badminton players have failed to show
their poise for the sport's most coveted laurels.

All the would-be Atlanta stars were steam rolled effortlessly
in yesterday's simulation matches.

Iwan Setiawan, training director of the Badminton Association
of Indonesia, quickly explained what happened to his players.

"I think some players did not get the Olympic mood in today's
matches. Maybe we need another simulation soon," Iwan said.

He insisted that everything went as planned. "There are no
mistakes in our program," he said. "The training program has
reached between 70 percent and 80 percent of its ideal."

Everybody's eyebrows raised when Joko Suprianto, who is likely
to top the seeding list in Atlanta, quickly fell to fellow
Olympian and world champion Hariyanto Arbi 4-15, 6-15.

"I was not ready for this match. I was told only yesterday
that I would play," Joko said. Both Joko and Hariyanto have
beaten each other, but their matches are always long.

"Officials and coaches should have announced the simulation a
week or at least four days before," Joko complained.

Hariyanto, who will make his Olympic debut in Atlanta, said
his easy win meant he had recovered from his injury: "It's time
for me to prove that I can win in the Olympics."

The country's young hope in women's singles, Mia Audina, then
tumbled meekly to Yuliani Sentosa 6-11, 0-11.

"I couldn't concentrate. I felt that my mind was absent," Mia
said. She admitted that she was worried about her mother, who is
now hospitalized because of a heart attack.

"I tried hard not to think about her during the match, but I
couldn't," Mia said.

Mia, member of the Uber Cup winning team said that she would
not waste her rigorous training for the Olympics. "I'm very
prepared for Atlanta," she said.

Gold medalists

Olympic women's singles defending champion, Susi Susanti, also
lost in straight sets, but she was excused for losing to men's
singles player Indra Wijaya.

Susi said the simulation was not much different from a routine
workout. "The difference is that we now use an umpire and
linesmen," she said.

Susi's fiance and fellow Olympic champion, Alan Budikusuma,
became another victim losing 10-15, 10-15 to Ardy Wiranata, the
teammate he ousted in the Olympic qualifying rounds.

The least fit performers were world men's doubles champions
Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky. The world number one pair, with
only Olympic gold eluding their major titles collection, lost to
their juniors Chandra Wijaya and Ade Sutrisna 3-15, 3-15.

Indonesia will field 20 players who compete in all five
categories contested in the Olympics. It has vowed to retain the
two gold medals it won four years ago.

The shuttlers will leave for Atlanta on July 17.

The Olympic organizers have provided them an indoor stadium to
practice in from July 18 to 23.

"We have two hours for practice in the morning and in the
afternoon," said Lutfi Hamid, another top official of the
badminton body.

Badminton will be contested between July 24 and Aug. 1 at the
Georgia Tech indoor stadium. (yan)