PBSI sends 16 badminton players home
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has sent home 16 shuttlers and three coaches from its national training center because it says they performed poorly in recent badminton tournaments.
However, several coaches at the center, all who requested anonymity, accused the PBSI of lacking money to send shuttlers to European tournaments. They said Indonesian shuttlers would be better prepared if they participated in as many international tournaments as possible.
Women's singles coach Ivana Lie, men's singles shuttler Taufiq Hidayat Akbar of Jakarta and Andre Kurniawan of Central Java are among those who will be sent home this week.
"We want to make the center more prestigious so any shuttlers admitted to the center have to work harder to prove themselves," PBSI chairman Sutiyoso said on Saturday while sending shuttlers to the Denmark Open and World Junior Championships in Vancouver, Canada.
He said the 16 shuttlers had performed poorly during training session and in local tournaments but did not elaborate on the details.
"The coaches were the ones who knew their shuttlers better. So we believe in their judgment," Sutiyoso said.
There are now 49 shuttlers at the center and 14 coaches, including women's singles coach Hendrawan, women's doubles coach Atiek Djauhari and men's doubles coach Christian Hadinata.
Coaches Joko Supriyanto, Herry Imam Pierngadi, Richard Mainaky, Sigit Pamungkas, Paulus Firman, Aryono Miranat and Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat's personal coach, Mulyo Handoyo, were also assured of their jobs at the center, he said.
Sutiyoso hoped the PBSI could "export" the dropped coaches to countries that had started to develop badminton such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
However, the idea was opposed by Ivana who said that she would rather find a coaching job in Indonesia than abroad. "I'd rather stay here since I have been brought up here."
She also criticized the PBSI for dismissing her from the center without any reasons or feedback.
"They (PBSI officials) told me yesterday (Friday) that I would not be in the team any more but they didn't give me any reason.
"They should have explained why they thought my performance was bad. Was it because the women's team failed in the Uber Cup? If that is the reason, why is it only me? The men's team also failed in the Thomas Cup," Ivana said.
PBSI officials hope six Indonesian shuttlers will reach the final at the Denmark Open in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 10. They are Olympic bronze medalist Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Simon Santoso, world No. 7 men's pair Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto and the junior pair of Markis Kidho/Hendra Setiawan.
PBSI development affairs head Icuk Sugiarto said since the PBSI had limited the number of players competing in international events, "the (players), especially the seniors, should reach the final round."
Joko predicted Sony would be able to reach the semifinals but Simon might only reach the quarterfinals.
"My prediction is based on their experience in international events. The target is reasonable," he said.
Sony, third seeded in the tournament, will first face Jesper Skau Madsen of Denmark, while Simon meets another Dane, Jens- Kristian Leth.
The PBSI had planned to send 21 shuttlers to the German and Danish opens but suddenly withdrew 15 players and had to pay a US$3,750 penalty fee to the International Badminton Federation.
The association said the shuttlers would have to focus more on Asian tournaments such as China Open in November.
Sutiyoso said he wanted the shuttlers to "understand that it's difficult to compete in international tournaments, so they have to fight with each other (to win a place in the tournament) first".