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The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has withdrawn 15 of its planned 21 shuttlers from the Denmark Open badminton championships in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 10, and must pay a penalty fee of US$3,750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Yoga Ukikasah/Rian Sukmawan and mixed doubles Anggun Nugroho/Yunita Tetty, Nova Widhianto/Lilyana Natsir were the names withdrawn from the competition.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.