RI gets into gear for Thomas Cup, Athens

RI gets into gear for Thomas Cup, Athens

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With Indonesia gearing up to defend the Thomas Cup, which is
to employ a new competition format this year, the Badminton
Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has reiterated that its Olympic
campaign will also be a top priority.

Indonesia will host the 2004 versions of the International
Badminton Federation (IBF)'s oldest competitions, which will be
held at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium in Jakarta from May 7 to
May 16.

The new competition format will allow at least one
representative from each of the five continents to participate in
a bid by the IBF to promote the world team championships as a
truly global event.

As many as 12 teams, as opposed to the previous eight, will
now participate in each of the Thomas and Uber Cup,

PBSI chairman Chaerul Tanjung said that Indonesia would have
its work cut out to win the Thomas Cup for a sixth consecutive
time, while at the same time keeping its sights firmly fixed on
the 2004 Olympics in Athens in August.

"Both are priorities as we don't have the luxury of choosing,"
he told reporters after signing a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) between the PBSI, the International Badminton Federation
(IBF), and TransTV television.

Trans TV will be the official channel for the Thomas and Uber
Cup competition.

Chairul stressed Indonesia's overriding interest in both the
Thomas Cup and Olympics by saying: "Thomas and Olympics, or die".

National badminton training camp director Christian Hadinata
said that the PBSI would focus on producing as many Indonesian
qualifiers in Athens as possible.

After rounding off their competition in the Thailand Open,
which concluded on Sunday, the shuttlers will be seeking to build
up their Olympic points at the Swiss Open from March 2 to March
7, the All England from March 9 to March 14, the Korea Open from
March 29 to April 4, and the Asian Championship, the dates and
venue for which have yet to be announced.

The Olympic qualifiers will be known by the end of April.

Christian said that playing in the Olympic qualifying matches
would also boost their performance so as to prepare them for the
Thomas and Uber Cup.

The Indonesian squad came home with only one title in the
men's doubles, but Christian considered that the squad, mostly
made up of young shuttlers, did well in the tournament, saying
that the young athletes were improving their performances all the
time.

Meanwhile, IBF board of executive member Punch Gunalan said
that the upcoming Thomas and Uber Cup would be a historic
milestone for the world of badminton as all five continents would
be represented in the competition for the first time.

"History will be created in Indonesia, the land of badminton,"
said Gunalan, who is also the secretary-general of the
Association Badminton Confederation (ABC).

The 12 teams, except for Indonesia as the Thomas Cup defending
champion and China as the Uber Cup champion, will secure their
places through preliminary continental competitions. Six of the
places are allocated to Asia.

The Oceania qualifying event will take place in Ballarat,
Australia, from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. Presov, Slovakia, will host
the European qualifiers from Feb. 10 to Feb. 15, while the Pan-
American shuttlers will seek qualification in Widley, St.
Michael, Barbados, from Feb. 15 to Feb. 22.

Africa will hold its qualifiers in Pretoria, South Africa,
from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25, while Asia is scheduled to hold its
continental event in Kuala Lumpur from Feb. 16 to Feb. 22.