Soeharto encourages shuttlers

Soeharto encourages shuttlers

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday called on
Indonesia's Thomas and Uber Cuppers to consider their title
defense mission in Hong Kong from May 16 to May 26 a national
duty, not as a burden.

"Maintaining what has already been achieved is certainly not
an easy task. But this should not be regarded as a burden,"
Soeharto told 20 members of the country's Thomas and Uber Cups
teams at the Merdeka Palace yesterday.

"Burdens may give rise to doubts (which erode our strengths).
So you'd better accept this as a duty, as a responsibility both
to yourselves and to our country," the President said.

The national shuttlers are scheduled to leave for the
championships on Sunday.

Indonesia notched up a memorable double by winning both the
Thomas Cup and Uber Cup trophies -- symbols of world badminton
team supremacy -- here two years ago.

On May 21, 1994, the Senayan indoor stadium watched Indonesia
win the Thomas Cup trophy a record ninth time. The host benched
world champion Joko Supriyanto for strategic reasons as it routed
title holder Malaysia 3-0 in the final.

The night before at the same venue, then world No. 1 Susi
Susanti and company denied China a seventh consecutive title with
a nail-bitting 3-2 victory, giving Indonesia its first Uber Cup
title in 19 years.

Most recently, however, Indonesian shuttlers have shown an
astonishing decline. Badminton queen Susi Susanti has been
dethroned by China's Ye Zhaoying from the world No. 1 ranking
after a series of defeats. Uber Cup heroine Mia Audina, who
determined Indonesia's 3-2 victory over China in the 1994 Uber
Cup final, has had her world ranking dropped from 5 to ten after
nursing a stubborn lingering knee injury.

Most stunningly, in the All England Championships last March
in Birmingham, none of Indonesia's singles players survived to
the semifinals. Many believe Indonesian shuttlers cracked under
the pressure of the burden that came with their previous
victories.

This was confirmed by Mia, her coach Retno Kustiyah and team
manager Lutfi Hamid. Mia explained her feelings during her daily
stint on Tuesday. Now that she was an "underdog", She felt no
"must win" burden. This enabled her to play carefree, she said.

Denmark

Meanwhile, European powerhouse Denmark will parade its best
shuttlers for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup, according to a
statement released by the International Badminton Federation on
Tuesday.

The Danes will be led by All England champion Poul Erik Hoyer
Larsen, veterans Thomas Stuer Lauridsen, Peter Rasmussen in the
men's singles and seasoned Camila Martin in the women's singles.

Lotte Romer Larsen of the Badminton Association of Denmark was
quoted yesterday by Antara as saying he was confident that his
teams stand a good chance of winning both the Thomas and Uber
Cups. Lotte admitted, however, that Indonesian teams had a better
chance if they met his in either the semifinals or finals.

Lotte said that he considered the Olympic Games in Atlanta
this July far more important than the badminton team
championships in Hong Kong.

The International Badminton Federation statement shows some
unexpectedness: China excludes Yu Lizhi and Hu Zhilan, who are in
the third and fourth positions in China's men's singles, from its
Thomas Cup team.

Also missing from China's Uber Cup team is Yao Yan, who ranks
third in China's women's singles. Following China's footstep is
South Korea, whose Thomas Cup team leaves out Kim Hak-kyun. Kim
has the third position in his country's men's singles. (arf)