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)