Pressure on young shuttlers in hunt for places in national training center
Pressure on young shuttlers in hunt for places in national training center
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Six of 12 shuttlers now taking part in the World Junior
Championships in Vancouver, Canada, will have to put in a good
performance in domestic tournaments if they are to go after
places in the national training center, according to the
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI).
The Vancouver event will start on Thursday and run until Oct.
30. The Indonesian team comprises six boys, Markus Wijanu, Ari
Yuli Wahyu, Mohamad Rizal, Ahmad Rivai, I Made Agung, Tommy
Sugiarto and six girls, Greysia Polii, Heny Budiman and Francisca
Ratnasari, Nithya Krishinda, Wiwis Meliana and Yuan Kartika.
They have been picked for the team based on their performance
in four junior tournaments early this year -- the Bandung SGS
Open, Jakarta Open, Milo Junior Open and Asian Student
Championship
While six of the traveling squad have already secured their
places at the center in Cipayung, the other six -- Rivai, Agung,
Tommy, Ninthya, Wiwis and Yuan -- still have to fight for their
berths.
The PBSI's secretary-general Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar said
that the six players would have to play in another two domestic
tournaments before their inclusion was certain.
The two tournaments are the Aqua Master Trophy in Kudus this
December and the National Championships held in Jakarta in
January next year.
"We must stick to the rules saying that the promotion of young
shuttlers must be based on their results in local tournaments in
one year," Siregar said on Tuesday.
Siregar denounced speculation that the player's inclusion
would be automatic if they did well in the championships.
Siregar's statement followed the exclusion of Tommy, son of
the 1983 world champion, Icuk Sugiarto, from the training center
after a protest from the provincial chapters.
Siregar also revealed the PBSI's plan to send four shuttlers
to the Indian Asian Satellite 2004 held in Hyderabad, India from
Oct. 25 to Oct. 29.
The four shuttlers are men's doubles Yonathan Dasuki and
Rendra Wijaya, and women's doubles Rintan Susantot and Rani
Mundiasti.
The East Java chapter will also send six men's singles players
to the satellite tournament -- Jeffer Rosobin, Adnan Fauzi,
Stenny Kusuma, Hendri Winarto, Viki Indra Okvana and Rizki
Kurniawan.