RI eyes badminton golds at Olympics
RI eyes badminton golds at Olympics
JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association of Indonesia voiced its confidence in its players yesterday to bring home victories from the world team championships and the Olympic Games.
Chairman of the association Soerjadi said during an Idul Fitri gathering at the national team's home base in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, that wins in both prestigious events were not beyond the reach of Indonesian players.
"We have seen our rivals make tremendous improvements thus far, but this should not demoralize us," Soerjadi said to encourage his squad.
Indonesia will return to the Thomas Cup men's team and Uber Cup women's team championships in Hong Kong next May as the holder of both trophies. Also at stake at the Olympic Games in Atlanta next July are its two gold badminton singles medals.
"Maintain your top form because there is only a short break between the two major events," Soerjadi said.
Earlier this month, the association picked 16 male and 12 female shuttlers for the Cups and Olympics. As expected, old faces like Joko Suprianto, Hariyanto Arbi, Susi Susanti and Mia Audina dominate the Olympic and the world team championship lineups.
The association will confirm the names of the players for both the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup in early April.
At the same time, the International Badminton Federation will announce the Olympic qualifiers. Only the world's best 16 in each of the five divisions are eligible, with each country allowed to field a maximum of three qualifiers.
A sports observer and former secretary-general of the association, Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, said that Indonesia's chances of retaining both trophies and Olympic gold medals looks fair.
"My big worry is that the nation's top players tend to be susceptible to injuries," Siregar said. Almost all of the country's elite players suffered injuries last season. Uber Cup heroine Mia was the last to recover and is scheduled to return to badminton court in the Swedish Open next week.
Siregar urged the national coaches to examine their training methods. "Overtraining could be the cause behind the series of injuries, who knows?" he said.
National coach Indra Gunawan said earlier that world champion Hariyanto and Olympic silver medalist Ardy Wiranata are the most susceptible to injuries among his troops.
Siregar also asked the coaches to take a close look at Indonesia's strongest contenders during the All England in Birmingham from March 13 to March 17, the last qualifying event for Atlanta.
A record of 358 players from 36 countries will take part in the world's oldest badminton tournament. (amd)