Mia to miss ABC tournament

Mia to miss ABC tournament

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian fans won't be able to watch the country's future badminton queen Mia Audina in the Asian Badminton championships in Surabaya from April 17 to 21 due to a nagging injury.

Chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia Soerjadi said that Mia should consider her physical health before entering future tournaments.

"It depends on her doctor whether Mia's physical condition is good enough for her to take part in upcoming tournaments or not," Soerjadi said after simulated Indonesia Thomas and Uber Cups teams over the weekend.

"I understand that Mia really wants to join the championships, but we have to be aware that she is saving her talent for the future," he added.

Mia's coach Retno Kustiyah said on Saturday that Mia should forget about joining the US$30,000 championships because she is still undergoing medical treatment for her injury, which she suffered at the Grand Prix finals in Singapore in December.

"It would take weeks to recover and she also has to undergo special light training practices," she said.

Mia said that she accepted the association's decision to cancel her participation in Surabaya.

"There's nothing I can do now but perhaps I'll play doubles for practice matches in Batam next week and play singles for the same simulation in Bandung and Jakarta later," she said.

"I hope to be ready for the Uber Cup championships," she added.

The Asian championships will be participated in by newcomer countries in badminton such as Syria, Iran, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The Big Four -- China, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia -- will not field their number-one players in the tournament due to their preparation for the Thomas and Uber Cup championships in Hong Kong from May 16 to 26.

Indonesia's Uber Cup team will face Japan in the opening round of the women's team event, while the Thomas Cup men's team will take on China the following day. (05)