Shuttler Ellen resigns from national squad

Shuttler Ellen resigns from national squad

JAKARTA (JP): Following her poor performance at the All
England Championships two weeks ago, Indonesia's number two
women's shuttler, Ellen Angelina, resigned from the Indonesian
Badminton Center.

Ellen submitted her resignation on Monday to officials at the
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI).

"Ellen submitted her resignation letter to me, (PBSI) chairman
Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, (PBSI) official in charge of athlete
development Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar and (PBSI) training
director Christian Hadinata," women's singles coach Verawaty
Fadjrin said on Tuesday.

"She explained in the letter that she wanted to resume her
studies and also that she was getting older and was no longer
satisfied with her level of play.

"I think it is the best solution because it would be a waste
of time for her and useless for me (to coach her) if she already
had the intention to resign."

Of the three national women's shuttlers who competed in the
All England, Ellen had the poorest result, being routed by
unknown Chinese shuttler Wang Rong 11-0, 11-3.

Ellen had reportedly lost her desire to train since returning
home from England, and was skipping her afternoon training
sessions.

With her resignation, Indonesia now has three active women's
singles shuttlers at the badminton center: Lidya Djaelawidjaja,
Yuli Marfuah and Atu Rosalina.

Two other women's shuttlers, Cindana Hartono and Ninik
Masrikah, are restricted to limited training because of injuries.

Christian said he had received Ellen's resignation and
accepted it as an honest decision.

"Our women's singles division is indeed weak and Ellen
realized her own weaknesses. It is a similar situation to the
men's doubles pair of Ricky Achmad Subagja and Antonius Halim,
who decided to resign from the center earlier this year," he was
quoted as saying by Antara.

"We will soon select junior shuttlers to fill the vacancy left
by Ellen. It will depend to their potential and suggestions by
coaches and athlete development officials."

Mixed reaction

In a separate matter, national shuttlers were mixed in their
reaction to the postponement of the 2000 World Grand Prix Finals,
which were scheduled to take place from March 28 to April 1 in
Brunei.

Men's doubles shuttler Candra Wijaya said he was disappointed
by the delay because he felt his form was peaking in time for the
event.

"I arranged my training schedule to reach my peak for the
Grand Prix Finals at the scheduled date, although I have set
myself a higher target for the World Championship to be played in
Seville, Spain, in May," he told The Jakarta Post after a
training session at the national badminton center in Cipayung,
East Jakarta.

"However, I will take the advantage of being able to
concentrate more on the Japan Open from April 3 to April 8."

Candra's doubles partner for the Grand Prix Finals, Tony
Gunawan, said he regretted the cancellation because it meant a
lost opportunity to improve his world ranking with new partner
Halim Heryanto.

"If only we knew that the Grand Prix Finals would be
canceled, we could have competed in the Swiss Open to improve our
ranking for the World Championships in May," said Tony, who
recently won the All England with Halim Heryanto.

"Well, look at the positive side. We can prepare better for
the Japan Open. The problem is when will they have the 2001 Grand
Prix Finals?"

Candra and Tony are in a difficult group for the Grand Prix
Finals, with compatriots Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian, Choong Tan
Fook and Lee Wan Wah of Malaysia, and Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-
kwon of South Korea.

Mixed doubles shuttler Minarti Timur said she had trained with
former partner Tri Kusheryanto for the event and was confused by
the delay.

"(The International Badminton Federation) delayed the Grand
Prix Finals several times and now plan to stage last year's event
in August. If the 2001 Finals are rescheduled for December, then
they are too close." (nvn)