Organizers expect China to show up at Indonesia Open
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Organizers of the 2002 Sanyo Indonesia Open badminton championships said they were confident one of the sport's powerhouses, China, would be sending its strongest team to the event after an absence of several years.
The Chinese team pulled out at the last minute from last year's event, causing major disappointment among participants.
"The Chinese team, led by Chinese head coach Li Yongbo, has submitted its entries (for the tournament)," the vice chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), Indra Kartasasmita, said on Wednesday.
"But I cannot give any guarantees that they will not pull out like they did last year.
"The Chinese players will arrive here after taking part in the Singapore Open, which ends on Aug. 25," he said during a media conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Central Jakarta.
The 2002 Indonesia Open will be held in Surabaya's Kertajaya Basketball Hall from Aug. 28 until Sept. 1. The qualifying round will take place on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27.
Also present at the conference were representatives of the event's sponsors and two of last year's champions: men's singles shuttler Marlev Mainaky and men's doubles shuttler Candra Wijaya.
According to the list of participants it submitted, China will be fielding its top players at the event, including Xia Xuanxe, Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai in the men's singles. In the women's singles, the country plans to send Zhou Mi, Zhang Ning, Dai Yun, Gong Ruina and Xie Xinfang.
Seven other countries have also confirmed their participation at the five-star, US$170,000 event.
"These countries are Denmark, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovenia, the U.S. and Wales," said Indra, who is responsible for international relations and developmental affairs at PBSI.
"Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei, India and South Korea have informed us they will be participating but have yet to submit their official line-ups," he said.
Registration for the event closes on Aug. 14.
Denmark will be relying on, among other players, All England women's singles champion Camilla Martin and Michael Soogard in the men's division.
The Netherlands will send its Uber Cup shuttlers, who made history by becoming the first team from that country to make it the semifinals, pulling off the feat in Guangzhou, China, in May.
The Dutch women include Indonesian-born Mia Audina Tjiptawan, Karina de Witt and Judith Meulendijks.
At the event, PBSI will field all 80 of its shuttlers training at the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta.
Candra said he was confident of defending his title, but Marlev said the event would have a different flavor this year because it would use the old best-of-three, 15-point scoring system.