Seville defeat 'won't harm shuttlers' showing'
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's 3-1 defeat by defending champion China in the Sudirman Cup mixed team event on Sunday will not affect shuttlers' performance in the World Championships at the San Pablo Stadium, Seville, Spain.
Head coach Christian Hadinata said he hoped his shuttlers would take a valuable lesson from last week's event.
"It (Sudirman Cup result) was the best we could achieve considering our preparation, which was barely enough. We failed to reach the final in 1999, losing to host Denmark in the semifinals," he told The Jakarta Post from Seville during a training session on Monday.
"This year we beat Denmark to top the group and managed to defeat South Korea in the semifinals, securing our final berth. So actually this year's result is an improvement."
Christian also emphasized that there was no difference between team and individual events in terms of athlete motivation.
"All shuttlers will do their best in every match and they will never underestimate their opponents. In fact, they have to be very careful because nowadays no country really dominates badminton.
"They have to be very careful if they meet opponents who were beaten in the Sudirman Cup. Their opponents will likely avenge their defeats."
Christian hopes to bring home titles from the men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles -- the same events in which Indonesia grabbed medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics -- at the championships which run until Sunday.
"Most our of shuttlers met their opponents during the Sudirman Cup. It is very important to be prepared for the individual events now."
Indonesian shuttlers had a rest on Monday and will start their campaign on Tuesday.
Men's singles world number three Taufik Hidayat will face Dicky Palyama of the Netherlands; Olympics silver medalist Hendrawan will meet a qualifier; Marlev Mainaky will play Colin Haughton of England; and Johan Hadikusuma will challenge Kevin Han of the United States.
In the women's singles, Lidya Djaelawidjaja will meet Maja Pohar of Slovenia, and Yuli Marfuah will face Julia Mann of England.
Men's doubles Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto are scheduled to meet Rosman Razak and Chang Kim Wai of Malaysia; Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian will have a chance to take revenge on archrival Pramote Teerawiwatana and Tesana Panvisvas of Thailand, while Tony Gunawan and Halim Heryanto will face Japanese Yuzo Kubota and Takuya Takayama.
Women's duo of Indarti Issoliana and Deyana Lomban will face Rhona Robertson and Sara Runesten-Petersen of New Zealand. Vita Marissa and Etty Tantri will meet Kirsten McEwan and Carol Tedman of Scotland.
In the mixed doubles, Bambang Suprianto and Minarti Timur will play qualifiers; Tri Kusherjanto and Indarti meet Albertus Susanto Njoto and Wang Ting Ling of Hong Kong, while Nova Widhianto and Vita will challenge Jonas Rasmussen and Majken Vange of Denmark.
Add title
AFP reported that Indian badminton ace Pullela Gopichand was looking to pull off a rare double by adding the world individual title to his All England crown here this week.
Gopichand, who became the first Indian in 27 years to lift the All England by triumphing in Birmingham three months ago, is seen as a dark horse for the men's singles crown this week. The 27 year old from Bangalore had not played in any tournament since the All England win before arriving in Seville.
"I felt I needed some matches to get used to playing again," sixth-seeded Gopichand said. "I was pleased with my form in the Sudirman Cup.
"I felt stronger with every game, so if I can continue to improve like that then I should challenge in the world individual," he said.
In the top half of the draw, top-seeded Malaysian Roslin Hashim must overcome a similarly hazardous route if he wants to advance to the final.
"To be world champion you must be at peak fitness," Hashim said. "You can't expect to win if you're unfit -- the field is just so strong," he added. (nvn)