'It's just a matter of form in Sudirman Cup c'ship'
'It's just a matter of form in Sudirman Cup c'ship'
JAKARTA (JP): Whether or not Indonesia succeeds in taking home
the Sudirman Cup is a matter of form, according to ace shuttlers
Susi Susanti and Ardy B. Wiranata.
Indonesia will send 29 ace shuttlers to two prestigious
championships in Lausanne, Switzerland: the Sudirman Cup mixed
team championship from May 17 to May 22 and the individual World
Championships from May 23 to May 28.
"Those who will win are those who can maintain their best form
during the match," badminton queen Susi said yesterday, which was
confirmed by men's world number two Ardy. "Just wait and see for
yourself," Susi added.
Susi and Ardy said they are familiar with the style and
techniques of their opponents and vice versa, hence it is
difficult to tell who has the best chance.
While Susi said of her would-be opponents that "more or less
we have equal footing," Ardy said he thought that his matches are
not going to be easy ones.
The Indonesian team will leave for Lausanne on Saturday.
Yesterday they took their departure from chairman of the National
Sports Council Wismoyo Arismunandar.
Indonesia will take on Denmark on May 18, the opening day of
the championships. Susi and company are placed in group B
together with Denmark and Thailand. Group A is made up of China,
South Korea and Japan.
Defending champion South Korea, which won the Cup in 1991 and
1993 with a 3-2 win over Indonesia both times, is by far still
the hardest opponent, said Indonesian team manager Iwan Setiawan.
Since the Cup's inauguration in Jakarta in 1989 up until the
last meet in 1993, the final showdown has always been between
Indonesia and South Korea, with Indonesia taking the Cup first in
1989 with a 3-2 edge.
Iwan believes Indonesia's chances to win will mostly rely on
the men's singles, women's singles and men's doubles in which
world champions Hariyanto Arbi, Susi Susanti and Ricky Subagja
and Rexy Mainaky are seeded first.
Iwan, who is also training director of the Badminton
Association of Indonesia, said Indonesia would not, in the first
instance, field its best players at the Sudirman Cup
championship, which is two-star rated.
This means that Indonesia's decision to field ace players will
depend on the opponent's world ranking because if an ace player
falls to an unseeded player in a two star championship, his or
her points will be reduced by 50. (arf)