Six shuttlers sent to Denmark Open

Six shuttlers sent to Denmark Open

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has withdrawn 15 of
its planned 21 shuttlers from the Denmark Open badminton
championships in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 10, and
must pay a penalty fee of US$3,750 to the International Badminton
Federation (IBF).

PBSI secretary general Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar told
reporters on Wednesday that the sudden withdrawal of the 15
shuttlers from the US$170,000 tournament was decided by PBSI
chairman Sutiyoso (also the governor of Jakarta) in the morning.

"Pak Sutiyoso decided to only send six shuttlers to the
Denmark Open and skipped the German Open because PBSI wanted the
shuttlers to focus on Asian tournaments, especially the China
Open in November," he said.

The competing shuttlers at the Denmark Open are Olympic bronze
medalist Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Simon Santoso, world's number seven
mens pair Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto and the junior pair of
Markis Kidho/Hendra Setiawan.

Wimpie Mahardi, Joko Riyadi/Hendra Gunawan, Yoga Ukikasah/Rian
Sukmawan and mixed doubles Anggun Nugroho/Yunita Tetty, Nova
Widhianto/Lilyana Natsir were the names withdrawn from the
competition. None of the women's shuttlers will compete in the
event.

"We submitted the 21 names near the closing date of the
registration, so we just named possible shuttlers. But, we found
out later that they should have concentrated more on tournaments
in Asia. That's why we've canceled the 15 shuttlers'
participation," Siregar said.

"We'd rather pay the penalty fee than sacrificing our
shuttlers' preparation for more important tournaments later this
year and next year such as the Sudirman Cup next May in Beijing,"
he added.

Siregar said PBSI had written a letter to the IBF, apologizing
for the sudden withdrawal.

He dismissed the suspicion that PBSI had a financial motive in
not sending shuttlers to tournaments abroad, emphasizing that
money was never a problem for Sutiyoso.

However, Siregar argued that the withdrawal was only "a part
of PBSI's strategy" to fulfill its target of bringing home the
Sudirman Cup and win back the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup in
2006.