Juniors need to improve performance: PBSI
Juniors need to improve performance: PBSI
JAKARTA (JP): Looking to the future of badminton, the official
in charge of athlete development at the Badminton Association of
Indonesia (PBSI), Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, pointed out the
necessity to improve junior shuttlers' speed and power.
"Indonesian shuttlers have always been known for their strokes
instead of speed and power, but the trend is changing, as shown
by the South Korean shuttlers," he said on Tuesday.
"Our juniors should improve their speed and power to
anticipate this new trend. It doesn't mean that strokes are not
important, but it can wait until they reach the senior level."
Siregar was commenting on the showing of the national junior
shuttlers at fifth Asian Junior Badminton Championships in Taipei
from July 8 to July 14.
Indonesia came away from the event with only one title, in the
boys' singles, thanks to Ardiansyah who defeated compatriot Sony
Dwi Kuncoro 15-12, 15-12 in the final.
South Korea romped home with four titles, with the help of
badminton powerhouse China, who skipped the championships.
Jun Jae-youn, who beat compatriot Seo Yoon-hee 11-8, 8-11, 11-
6 in the girls' final, crushed Indonesian Silvi Antarini 11-6,
11-6 in the semifinals.
In the boys' doubles, South Korea's Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-
man defeated Adisak Wiriyap and Songphon Anugrit of Thailand 17-
15, 15-1. The Thais beat Indonesians Titon Gustaman and Devin
Lahardi 17-14, 9-15, 10-15 in the semifinals.
The Indonesian girls' duo of Endang Nursugianti and Lita
Nurlita fell short of the title, bowing out to South Korea's
Hwang Yu-mi and Cho A-ra 13-15, 11-15 in the final.
In an all-Korean mixed doubles final, Hwang Ji-man and Bae
Sung-hee eliminated Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Yu-min 15-7, 15-12.
Indonesia's mixed doubles pairs of Hendra Setiawan and Lina
Marlina, and Devin Lahardi and Endang Nursugianti crashed out in
the semifinals to the two Korean pairs.
"The championships reflected the future of badminton, despite
China's absence. We must prepare our junior shuttlers eventually
to replace the veteran shuttlers," Siregar said.
"However, the results show that our juniors are already on the
right track in their development. It is a long process and we
cannot expect immediate results.
"We can't compare them with their veteran counterparts, who
are already at the peaks of their careers.
"It was a good thing that our shuttlers were still able to
play so well despite losing in the team event. They received
added motivation to improve their game.
"I guess they had stage fright, especially when meeting the
host team. Besides, they still lack tournament experience. It was
a good experience for them," he said.
Indonesia's boys team lost to host Taipei in the semifinals,
while the girls team was defeated 3-0 by South Korea, which
eventually won the title. Malaysia won the boys' title.
"Although Malaysia and Taipei grabbed the team titles, none of
their shuttlers performed well in the individual events," Siregar
said.
He also stressed the importance of promoting more juniors to
the senior level to maintain Indonesia's badminton dominance.
"We need to accelerate the process in all events to maintain
our domination. PBSI must focus on reaching world-class
achievements and stop worrying about the regional events.
"While China is already thinking about the Beijing 2008
Olympics, the National Sports Council is still stuck with the
Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games in September. It has even
forgot to prepare for the Pusan 2002 Asian Games or the Athens
2004 Olympics.
"Such confusion would not occur if we had a solid system of
development that would enable us to divide our shuttlers
according to their levels of development," he said. (nvn)