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.