Milo junior meet attracts eight countries

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Milo Junior Indonesia Open badminton championships, which will start next week in Surabaya, East Java, has attracted foreign players.

Seven countries with a total of 30 players will add to the bulk of the local hopefuls for the 2002 event. The seven nations are Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Belgium, Sweden and Brunei Darussalam.

Only Japan and Brunei Darussalam joined the 2001 event in Salatiga, Central Java.

The 2002 tournament will be staged at the Sudirman Sports Hall for five days from Tuesday to Saturday. On offer is US$10,000 in cash prizes.

The home side will be represented by the junior squad from the Training Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta, 25 clubs from Java and outside Java, and five Milo teams.

"We have around 310 players in the competition. With more countries taking part than last year, I can say this event, as far as numbers is concerned, will be a success," Minarni Sudaryanto, from the organizing committee, said in Surabaya when contacted by The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Minarni, a 1970s Indonesian badminton star, said the tournament would use the seven-point format, although it could shift to the old format -- 15 points for male singles, doubles and 11 points for female singles -- if participants so wished.

The play format issue has returned to the spotlight, after an International Badminton Federation (IBF) congress in Guangzhou in May decided to switch back to the old system after the seven- point system was tried out for two years but had apparently failed to impress.

"We will still play the seven-point format as planned given that the old format will not be readopted until August. However, the option is still open and we will hold a technical meeting on Sunday," Minarni said.

Five events will be staged: boys' singles, doubles, girls' singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.

Meanwhile, 2001 runner-up Dewi Tira Arisandi and Holvy De Pauw, both members of the training center, are top seeds in the girls' and boys' singles categories respectively.