Shuttlers begin play in Jakarta Open

The 18th Yonex Sunrise Jakarta Open 2004 badminton championship, featuring about 1,000 players from 74 clubs in Indonesia and four foreign countries, began here on Tuesday.

The six-day championship at the Asia-Africa Badminton Hall in South Jakarta features Under-14, U-16 and U-19 divisions, as well as an open class, with a total of Rp 30 million (US$3,200) in prizes on offer.

The visiting teams come from Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland.

Only a few national players from Indonesia's training center are playing in the tournament, a fact that has been criticized by the organizing committee.

The national training center has sent only two men's doubles teams to the tournament, Stevanus Ricky/Suherlan and Ardian Kusmanto/Raymond Dimas Lesmana, as well as the mixed doubles pair of Mega Berlian/Olivia.

"It is very disappointing that the training center has not sent more players to this championship. It is held in Jakarta, so they don't have to spend much money," Retno Kustijah, vice chairman of the tournament's organizing committee, said. -- JP