PBSI justifies decision to send only 10 players to worlds
PBSI justifies decision to send only 10 players to worlds
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) secretary-general MF Siregar defended on Wednesday the decision to keep at home half of the players who qualified for the upcoming World Badminton Championships.
Siregar said it was not worthwhile sending the low-ranked women's singles and doubles players to the worlds simply for international experience, which he believed could be gained from competing in other overseas events.
"There can be no bargaining about performance when it comes to the Olympics and the world championship," Siregar told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday before a meeting to discuss standardization of national coaching.
"We are only sending those players with a strong certainty of making the semifinals."
Ten of the 20 players who qualified under the International Badminton Federation's rankings system are being sent to Anaheim, California, for the Aug. 15-Aug 21 worlds. The players, plus eight coaches and officials, will leave on Thursday morning.
PBSI chairman Sutiyoso also justified the selection of the team during a ceremony at City Hall on Tuesday.
"We have to be target oriented, so if a player is already certain on paper of being thrashed in the first round, why send them? ..." he was quoted as saying by Antara news service.
Siregar did not expect any major problems in adjustment for the players, saying the warm fall weather would be to their liking. There is also a large Indonesian expatriate community in southern California, including 2001 world men's doubles champions Tony Gunawan and Halim Haryanto.
Siregar, whose children live near the venue for the worlds, praised the arena as an excellent facility but he would not speculate on whether the country could win its first titles since 2001 in Seville, where Tony/Halim and men's singles player Hendrawan took top honors.
"We cannot make any predictions yet about who may be champion, there are too many variables involved. We will have to see when we get there how the players are performing on court."
The players have been undergoing stepped-up training in recent weeks, focused on building up their stamina and physical fitness, honing their shot accuracy and providing mental preparation, the latter overseen by a team from the Indonesian Army.
Athens Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat may be able to break the world title drought if he can keep his emotions under control and repeat the form that led him to defeating Denmark's Peter Gade, China's world number one Lin Dan and Hong Chen for the Singapore Open in July.
Talented Taufik is known for his mercurial temperament, and Siregar said his desire to win was the key factor.
"If he really wants it, there is no question he can do it. That was why he won in Athens. It's just a question of whether he wants it that much."
Now 23, Taufik believes his time may be running out to win the world crown.
"Hopefully, I can succeed, because this may be my last opportunity. There is no guarantee for the future that I could do it," he said on Tuesday.
Seeded sixth for this worlds, Taufik lost in the last 16 at the 1999 worlds, semis in 2001 and quarterfinal in 2003. He is likely to face second seeded Dane Kevin Jonassen in the quarterfinals.
At Tuesday's gathering, Sutiyoso also said there would be "reward and punishment" system for players and coaches who failed to reach targets.
The coaches should know who their players will meet, and have a program so they can discuss strategy before the encounter. Coaches must also closely monitor the condition of their athletes." ---------------------------- Team: Taufik Hidayat and Sony Dwi Kuncoro (men's singles); Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto, Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto, Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian (men's doubles); Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir (mixed doubles).