Little Mia Audina eying up queen Susi Susanti's throne
Little Mia Audina eying up queen Susi Susanti's throne
TOKYO (AFP): Fresh from her victory in the Japan Open, world number one Mia Audina is looking for an even more aggressive style as she seeks to eclipse badminton's most successful player -- Susi Susanti.
"I think I have found how to play my game," said the little 17-year-old, who beat China's Gong Zhichao in the Japan Open final on Sunday to take her second career title after the U.S. Open in September.
"Basically, I'm an offensive player, but I learned in the semifinal how to attack by moving my opponent round the court, not just by hitting hard."
"It's not a new idea, but I've been trying to do it for a long time," added Mia, who stopped China's world champion Ye Zhaoying, the defending champion, in the semifinal.
Her acrobatic round-the-head smashes and attacks at the net are in stark contrast to her fellow national star, who hits the shuttle high to wait for her opponent to make an error.
Liong Chiu Sia, Susi's former coach who now guides the women's doubles team, said Mia hits varied shots which "surprise her opponents."
"Mia has hard, fast smashes and her attacks are very good. That's perhaps the difference from Susi," said Liong. "But she is still young and unstable. If her opponent does not make a mistake first, she is likely to make one first."
"I'm number one in the world at this moment, but I don't feel any pressure. I never think I'm a better player than Susi just because I'm ranked above her right now. She has more experience than I do," said Mia.
"During the Thailand Open last year Susi told me 'you are my successor' and gave me some advice."
But many experts say Mia has already taken the queen of badminton throne from Susi, Indonesia's first Olympic champion, who once held all the major titles, including the world title, All-England, Grand Prix Final and the World Cup.
Susi's mind is now more on getting married next month, though she insists she will keep on playing. Meanwhile Mia will have a two-day rest in Jakarta before starting preparations for the All- England championship in March, which Susi won in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994.
But to go down in the history books as the all-time great, Mia will have to win all the titles that Susi did plus the Asian Games gold -- the only one Susi failed to get.
Mia made a sensational international debut in 1994 by beating China's Zhang Ning to take the Uber Cup back to Indonesia.
But she tearfully crashed to South Korea's Bang Soo-hyun in the Atlanta Olympic final last year.
"I know everybody expects me to do well. In the old days, when I won a match, everybody was delighted. But now, everybody expects me to win a tournament. I'll just do my best to win."
She is also refusing to discuss the Sydney Olympics. "It's too early to think of that. I want to concentrate on winning my next match."