Ricky and Rexy have nothing to lose at Grand Prix finals
Ricky and Rexy have nothing to lose at Grand Prix finals
JAKARTA (JP): Olympic men's doubles champions Ricky Subagja
and Rexy Mainaky say they will not crack under heavy pressure and
will win the Grand Prix badminton finals next week.
"We just want to enjoy the game out there. Nobody, including
the Badminton Association of Indonesia, insists that we must take
the title," Rexy said.
"Ricky and I are the oldest team to qualify, so it will be
fine if we can reach the semifinals," the 31-year-old father of
two children added.
The finals will run from Feb. 22 to Feb. 28 in the Brunei
capital of Bandar Seri Begawan. Only the world top 16 in both
men's and women's singles and world top eight in each of the
men's, women's and mixed doubles are eligible for the event.
Ricky and Rexy, who have won all major titles during their
reign dating back in 1994, will top the seedings in the season-
ending tournament of 1998 which was delayed from its scheduled
December date.
It will be the first tournament for Rexy and Ricky as a team
since they triumphed at the Asian Games last December.
Along with them, Indonesia's men's doubles line-up will parade
Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian, Tony Gunawan/Halim Haryanto and Denny
Kantono/Antonius Ariantho.
Rexy/Ricky have been drawn to meet Flandy/Eng Hian, the
Swedish pair of Peter Axelsson and Par Gunnar Jonsson and China's
Zhang Wei and Zhang Jun in the Group A.
Third seeded Tony and Halim will be in Group B along with
Denny/Antonius, England's second seeds Chris Hunt and Simon
Archer and Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Jesper Larsen.
Rexy hoped that the four Indonesian pairs would all reach the
semifinals to secure the men's doubles crown.
"It's very possible because we will only face strong
opposition from the Swedes and Danes. But being overconfident
will be dangerous," Rexy said.
Separately, Eng Hian said he would fight it out to win the
tournament. "Victory is my personal target because I think the
event will serve as a warm-up for the All-England," he said.
New men's doubles coach Herry IP said victory is a must for
his charges who will make up half the field.
"I'm not expecting all-Indonesian semifinals, but they must
win the title," said Herry, a replacement for Atik Djauhari who
has moved to Sweden.
Herry said his squad would next target more titles at the All
England, Japan Open and the World Championships. (yan)