Seville defeat 'won't harm shuttlers' showing'

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)