RI badminton sweep hoped for at Games
RI badminton sweep hoped for at Games
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia looks certain to sweep all seven badminton gold medals at the forthcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games given that no tough competitors are in sight, a former top official of the Badminton Association of Indonesia said.
"It's not going to be a see-saw competition," Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, who was the association's official in charge of tutelage and development affairs, told reporters yesterday.
The 18th SEA Games are slated for Dec. 9 to 17 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, just about the time when the world badminton Grand Prix finals take place.
"The International Badminton Federation should reschedule the Grand Prix finals or the season-ending tournament will play havoc to our preparations for the Games," Siregar said.
Indonesia was an inch away from romping home with seven badminton gold medals in the 1993 meet before the Malaysian men's duo of Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang upset Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky.
Iwan Setiawan, who succeeded Siregar, hinted earlier that Indonesia might field its second stringers in the biennial event and reserve its world top players for the Grand Prix finals.
"Our main target is to improve our Grand Prix points in order to qualify for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta," Iwan said. He rated the Grand Prix finals and the Atlanta Olympic as far more important than the SEA Games.
Siregar said that Indonesia had no choice but to at least retain two Olympic gold medals won by Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma in 1992. Indonesia had been waiting for 40 years to join the gold medal winning countries at the Olympics.
Tough opponents would come from South Korea in the women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles, Siregar said. In the men's doubles, either China, Denmark or Malaysia could be a dark horse, he added.
Believing that the upcoming Olympics will be far tougher than the previous meets, Siregar suggested that the association should first solidify its pairs for the men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles events.
Grand Prix rankings
World badminton rankings after four events in the 1995 World Grand Prix series published in London on Monday:
Men:
1. Hariyanto Arbi (Ina) 720 pts
2. Hermawan Susanto (Ina) 600
3. Fung Permadi (Tpe) 480
4. Jens Olsen (Swe) 430
5 Lee Kwang-jin (Kor) 360
eq. Hendrawan (Ina)
7. Jeroem van Dijk (Net) 330
8. Poul-Erik Larsen (Den) 325
9. Marleve Mainaky (Ina) 320 10. Joko Suprianto (Ina) 310
Women:
1. Lim Xiaoqing (Swe) 870
2. Susi Susanti (Ina) 720
3 Bang Soo-hyun (Kor) 480
eq. Camilla Martin (Den)
5. Ra Kyung-min (Kor) 295
6. Juliani Santoso (Ina) 265
7 Lee Joo-hyun (Kor) 260
eq. Meiluawati (Ina)
9. Zhaoying Ye (Chn) 245 10. Mia Audina (Ina) 240
eq. Han Jingna (Chn)