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)