PBSI says Sudirman Cup underlines deficiencies

PBSI says Sudirman Cup underlines deficiencies

JAKARTA (JP): The Sudirman Cup mixed team event reflects the
true badminton strength of a country. Indonesia has yet to reach
the stage where it can dominate in the event because it is only
strong on the men's side, while the women remain a weak link.

This conclusion was, once again, announced by Badminton
Association of Indonesia (PBSI) training director Christian
Hadinata on Thursday.

"The Sudirman Cup emphasizes five different events. Those
events reflect the real strength of a badminton country. If we
are only strong in one event and weak in another, it shows that
the development (of badminton) in our country is not good," he
said, adding that Indonesia is only strong in the men's singles
and doubles.

The Sudirman Cup, staged for the first time in Jakarta in
1989, features men's and women's singles and men's, women's and
mixed doubles. Each participating country must compete in each of
the five events.

So far, only three countries have won the trophy. They are
Indonesia in 1989, South Korea in 1991 and 1993 and China in
1995, 1997 and 1999.

In last month's Sudirman Cup, Indonesia failed to reach the
finals for the second time after being defeated by host Denmark.
Indonesia won the men's doubles and mixed doubles but lost in the
women's and men's singles and the women's doubles.

Denmark, which was attempting to become the first European
country to win the event, lost in the finals to defending
champion China, which made history by becoming the first country
to win the event three times in a row.

Christian said Indonesian shuttlers must work harder,
particularly the women, to improve their skills before the
country can again win the event.

"There's no way we can win if we don't have key players in all
five events," he said.

Christian also said the Sudirman Cup, named after the former
PBSI chairman, was considered less prestigious than the Thomas or
Uber Cups because the event was held in conjunction with the
World Championships.

"Somehow, some countries consider the Sudirman Cup a second-
class event because they are focusing more on the World
Championships, an individual event," he said.

"As the architect of the Sudirman Cup, Indonesia has asked the
International Badminton Federation (IBF) to stage the event apart
from the World Championships," he said.

During last month's Sudirman Cup, IBF distributed
questionnaires to officials from participating countries, asking
if the Sudirman Cup and the World Championships should continue
to be held in conjunction or be separated.

The questionnaires also asked officials about the
qualification format for the championships. Currently,
participating countries are divided into seven groups. The six
elite badminton countries -- China, Denmark, South Korea,
Indonesia, Sweden and England -- are in group I. Malaysia, which
was in this group in the last championships, was relegated to
group II for this year's championships.

Christian also said the participation of "less powerful
badminton countries" showed great enthusiasm for the biennial
event.

"It shows that they have a great interest to develop badminton
in their own countries. We can't find this in the Thomas Cup," he
said.

In the Thomas and Uber Cups, nonelite badminton countries must
fight their way through a qualifying round before they can take
part in the final round. (yan)