Selection of national badminton team starts
Selection of national badminton team starts
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's junior badminton players dominated the
selection tournament for the national team, but will have to wait
and see if the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) approves
their promotions.
Vidre Wibowo of Tangkas Club Jakarta topped the standings for
the boys singles after winning five matches and dropping one
during the round-robin competition. Dwi Retnowati of club Jaya
Raya, also from Jakarta, won all of her matches in the girls
singles event.
The pairing of Rossi and Diah Novita of Jaya Raya finished
first in girls doubles, while Tangkas' Nova Widianto and Upi Ch
won the mixed doubles. The boys pairing of Andreas and Luluk were
the only non-Jakarta winners in the tournament.
The chief of athletes development affairs at PBSI, Mangombar
Ferdinand Siregar, said that a team of selectors would decide as
soon as possible the number of junior players who deserve
promotion to the country's elite team.
"Even the winners have not secured promotions. We will simply
recommend their inclusion to the selectors, who have the final
word," Siregar said. "The number of new recruits will also depend
on our financial situation."
He said the selectors would ask for the approval of PBSI's
chairman before publishing the list of promoted shuttlers.
PBSI nominated five players for promotion before the beginning
of the five-day selection tournament, which ended on Friday,
because they won at least three interclub tournaments last year.
These five shuttlers are boys singles Arief Rasidi, girls singles
Niniek Masrikah and Atu Rosalina, and the boys doubles pairing of
Denny Setiawan and Donny Prasetyo.
A coach at the Lippo Bandung club, Sidik, suggested that the
PBSI hold a selection tournament every two years at the most,
instead of the current practice of holding the tournament every
year.
"A year is not enough for a new recruit to perform his or her
best. If the PBSI finds certain players fail to meet their
standards before the two-year probation period ends, it can pick
players from the previous selection tournament as replacements,"
he said.
Sidik said ideally the PBSI would arrange a four-year training
program, with the ultimate goal of winning gold medals at the
Olympic Games.
Siregar said that the PBSI would use age, international
achievements, personality, commitment and discipline to decide
whether to keep or expel a national team member. (yan)