RI world number six pair Flandy and Eng Hian resign
JAKARTA (JP): World number six men's doubles pair Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian made a surprise decision to retire from badminton on Wednesday, following their poor performance this year.
"This is not a sudden decision. We have considered it for a long time and we had decided that, whatever our result at the World Championships in Seville, Spain, in early June, we would retire," Eng Hian told The Jakarta Post by phone.
"I know that we are still in the top 10, but ranking doesn't guarantee anything. Since the All England in March, we have both suffered injuries and our performance has been sliding tragically, with the most disappointing a first round defeat at the World Championships," he said.
The pair won the 2000 Malaysia Open and Danish Open, and took the silver medal at the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam.
"We feel unable to compete with the other two pairs. Besides, the coach has always preferred to set up new partnerships instead of including us in the team. We are very disappointed with the decision," Eng Hian said.
Eng Hian was referring to world champions Tony Gunawan and Halim Heryanto, currently ranked third in the world, and the 12th ranked Japan Open winners Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto.
Eng Hian and Flandy were omitted from the 2000 Thomas Cup team as coach Herry Imam Pierngadi preferred to field Sigit, who had just returned to competition after a one-year ban for consuming the banned substance nandrolone, and Antonius, who had quit the center.
The same incident took place prior to the Sudirman Cup mixed team event, staged prior to the World Championships, where Herry opted to field Olympic champions Tony and Candra.
Both shuttlers submitted their resignation letters to Herry, training director Christian Hadinata, and the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI)'s official in charge of athlete development Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar and executive director Karsono.
They will submit the letter to chairman Subagyo Hadisiswoyo on Thursday when the latter visits the Indonesian Badminton Center prior to the departure of juniors to compete at the Junior Asian Championships in Taipei next week.
Eng Hian said that he would continue to study abroad, probably in Switzerland, in the near future.
"Study will be my main consideration. Even if I play in the future, it will only be to earn money to finance my study. But I'm still waiting for a PBSI recommendation letter. I will take a break to refresh myself," he said.
Flandy was unavailable for comment, but had previously said that he would also continue studying after leaving badminton.
Christian regretted the decision but said that it was dependent on both shuttlers' commitment to badminton.
"Technically, both Flandy and Eng Hian are world class shuttlers. They have the potential and skills, but have failed to explore them.
"Their resignation provides more homework for us because now we only have two pairs without any backups. We need to work harder to create qualified second stringers in the men's doubles, which is our strength in badminton.
Christian and Herry had planned to split the pair due to their lack of success over the past six months. Christian pointed to both Flandy and Eng Hian's inability to become the playmaker during their matches as the main reason for their inconsistent form.
He also said that PBSI has yet to decide who would replace Flandy and Eng Hian in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games squad for the Sept. 8 to Sept. 17 event in Kuala Lumpur. The shuttlers won silver at the 1999 Games, losing to Pramote Teerawiwatana and Tesana Panvisvas of Thailand.
"I have to talk to Herry to decide who will replace them," Christian said. (yan)