Shuttlers evaluated at Junior Indonesia Open

Shuttlers evaluated at Junior Indonesia Open

By Novan Iman Santosa

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): Indonesian junior shuttlers will
use the US$9,000 Milo Junior Indonesia Open as one of their
preparatory events for the Asian Junior Championships in Taipei
in July.

"The players have been in the Indonesian Badminton Center for
three months. We really expect them to do well here," team
manager Joko Suprianto told a press conference on Monday.

"The tournament will serve as part of the selection process
for the Taipei Asian Junior Championships team and also to
evaluate their progress during training at the center."

"Their performance in Taipei will also be evaluated," said
Joko, who is also the juniors' coach.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) official in
charge of athletes development, Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, PBSI
referee Julius Tetelepta, PT Gematama Kreasindo president
director Minarni Soedarjanto and PT Nestle Indonesia AVP Public
Relations Brata T. Hardjosubroto were also present at the press
briefing.

Asked if the PBSI would discharge shuttlers who put in poor
showings during the event or recruit new talents, Joko said the
decision did not rest with the coaches alone.

"The PBSI has a talent-scouting team that is responsible for
assessing all promising players here and at other tournaments.
Basically, we must give the juniors more chances to compete."

Siregar called on PBSI chapters to establish their own
training centers to boost the number of local competitions.

"By having more training centers, we can have more players and
competitions in the country. It's really important to accelerate
the juniors' progress by fielding them together with seniors in
important events, including the Sudirman Cup."

Siregar said China and South Korea had fielded their juniors
in the World Junior Championships in Guangzhou, China, and in the
just concluded Sudirman Cup in Seville, Spain.

Joko regretted the sparsity of foreign shuttlers at the event,
saying that the level of competition was not as high as expected
earlier.

"Indonesian shuttlers are still expected to reach their best
form, especially the seeds."

Malaysia made a last-minute withdrawal last Friday although
its shuttlers were seeded in the event.

"We won't change the drawing. The players who are supposed to
meet the Malaysians will get byes in the first round. We are not
replacing them with other players," Julius said. "All the team
managers agreed to this during the technical meeting."

Siregar said the PBSI would wait for the official report on
the withdrawal and submit it to the International Badminton
Federation.

"It's up to the IBF to penalize Malaysia for their late
withdrawal. We've never encountered a similar case like this
before."