PBSI sends 16 badminton players home
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".