RI Uber squad looks to bounce back against Dutch
Novan Iman Santosa and Zakki Hakim Jakarta
After being hammered by China, the Indonesian women hope to capitalize on the absence of Mia Audina when they meet the Netherlands in their Uber Cup Group W match here on Sunday.
Indonesian coach Ivana Lie said Mia's absence would benefit her singles' players. However, Dutch coach Martijn van Dooremalen insisted her squad would be just fine without Mia.
Dooremalen said Chinese-born Yao Jie was ready to step into Mia's position in the singles, together with Karina de Witt, Judith Meulendijks and Brenda Beenhakker.
"Sunday will surely see an exciting match," Ivana said, adding that her three singles' shuttlers should have a 50-50 chance against their Dutch opponents.
The encounter will provide the home side with an opportunity to avenge a defeat in Guangzhou, China, two years ago in the Uber Cup, which employed the now-abandoned best-of-five scoring system.
Indonesia lost to the Netherlands 3-2 in that 2002 encounter, thus failing to make the semifinals as had been expected by the Badminton Association of Indonesia.
Mia, who was an integral part of Indonesia's back-to-back Uber Cup victories in 1994 and 1996, won her singles match against Indonesia in 2002 and then paired with Lotte Bruil-Jonathans for a doubles victory.
Mia defeated Lidya Djaelawidjaya 3-0 in the singles before teaming up with Bruil-Jonathans to beat Emma Ermawati and Minarti Timur 3-2.
Meulendijks gave the Dutch their third point with a 3-1 win over Ellen Angelina.
Indonesia's two points were contributed by Yuli Marfuah, a 3-1 winner over Beenhakker, and Deyana Lomban and Vita Marissa, who were 3-2 winners over Beenhakker and Karina de Witt.
Mia did not travel to Indonesia for this year's Uber Cup, saying she needed a break after her European championship victory to allow her to prepare for the upcoming Olympics.
However, the majority of the Dutch squad that triumphed over Indonesia in Guangzhou has returned, and Meulendijks and Bruil- Jonathans are again ready for another run at victory.
For the Indonesians, only Eny Erlangga and Jo Novita, who did not play in that Guangzhou match, are remaining from the 2002 squad.
Ivana warned her players against a letup, saying that with or without Mia, the Netherlands, seeded three places higher than Indonesia, was an opponent to be reckoned with.
Silvi Antarini, Maria Kristin, Fransisca and Adrianti Firdasari are playing in their first Uber Cup with Indonesia, and hope to help the squad bounce back from its 5-0 drubbing at the hands of China on the opening day of the competition.
Indonesia expects to field the same lineup against the Dutch that it used against China.