Mia ready for Singapore, Indonesia opens

Mia ready for Singapore, Indonesia opens

JAKARTA (JP): After a two-month break in which she gained a
considerable amount of weight, Indonesian women's singles player
Mia Audina says she is ready to compete in the Singapore and
Indonesia opens next month.

Mia, who recently returned with her husband Tylio Lobman from
a vacation in the Netherlands, told reporters on Wednesday that
she was ready to fight for the Grand Prix series titles.

"I have to play in those two tournaments as a way to qualify
for the Olympics. I hope I can regain my number one position at
the end of the qualifying round on April 30, 2000. But I think I
can only manage to stay in the top five."

The 1996 Olympic silver medalist has long been tipped to take
over the number one spot from Susi Susanti, now in semiretirement
after giving birth. However, Mia's marriage to Surinamese Lobman
on March 30 and her sometimes rancorous relationship with the
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) have caused
controversy.

She married Lobman, an evangelist and gospel singer, shortly
after a disappointing run at the All England Championships. She
then skipped the Sudirman Cup and World Championships in
Copenhagen in May because she was still in mourning after her
mother's death in April.

Mia said she continued to train during her stay in the
Netherlands, but admitted she gained weight.

"I don't know how much I weigh now because I don't dare to
know. But I will reduce it soon during practice," she said with a
laugh.

She acknowledged her bid to climb from a ranking of 18 back
into the top five would be difficult because of the crop of
talented young Chinese players, including world number one Dai
Yun, number three Gong Ruina and number four Zhang Ning. Another
rival is world champion Camilla Martin of Denmark.

The 19-year-old shuttler also will need to displace
compatriots Cindana Hartono, ranked seventh, and Lydia
Djaelawidjaja, ranked 11th.

In Mia's absence, Cindana and Lydia showed they could replace
her in the Sudirman Cup and World Championships although they
lost in the quarterfinals.

The PBSI official in charge of athletes development, Mangombar
Ferdinand Siregar, said he would consult with Mia's coach, Liang
Chiusia, on her physical fitness before sending her to the
Singapore Open from Aug. 25 to Aug. 29 and the Indonesia Open in
Denpasar from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.

"Normally, a shuttler needs about two months to reach his or
her standard condition. But we'll see how she manages to work out
to achieve her best fitness."

Earlier, National Sports Council (KONI) chairman Wismoyo
Arismunandar visited the center to give moral support to
shuttlers, especially members of the SEA Games contingent.

Wismoyo said he did not mind that PBSI only targeted five
golds from the event as long as it sent its best players.

He also said that KONI needed to become more involved in
badminton development because it was a top priority sport which
secured Olympic gold medals for the country.

"KONI will help PBSI in developing its athletes and coaches by
using sports science. We will send our experts in psychology,
nutrition, coaching education and other disciplines to support
PBSI training programs, especially for the 2000 Olympics," he
said.(yan)