Soerjadi to lead shuttlers to Lausanne
Soerjadi to lead shuttlers to Lausanne
JAKARTA (JP): The chief of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), Soerjadi, will lead the 30-strong national team at both the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships and the World Championships in Switzerland.
Winning both titles has been deemed so important that the chairman of the association will be required to personally lead the Indonesian team, as was decided at the PBSI meeting on Thursday.
Soerjadi will be directly responsible for the performance of the team. He will go to Lausanne, Switzerland, to give moral support to the shuttlers.
The team will fly to Lausanne in two phases. The first group will depart on May 13 and the rest on May 17.
At the Sudirman Cup championships, which will be held prior to world championships, Indonesia will field only two or three players instead of fielding one player in each of the five championship events.
PBSI director in charge of organizational affairs, Lufti Hamid, warned that it would not be easy for Indonesia to nail victories at the Sudirman Cup Championships. Many of the participating countries, such as former defending champions South Korea and Denmark, are more or less equal in terms of player skills, he added.
Citing Soerjadi, Lufti made it clear that PBSI wants to win the Sudirman Cup, bring it home and put it next to the Uber Cup and the Thomas Cup, the women's and the men's badminton supremacy symbols that Indonesia won last year.
As a figure head for the Indonesian team, Soerjadi will be assisted by PBSI executive director Sumaryono, who serves as team leader, and Lufti Hamid.
World badminton maestro Rudy Hartono, Tahir Djide, Liang Chiusia and Indra Gunawan, the national top badminton coaches, are also part of the team.
The pack of ace shuttlers to be fielded in both the championships include world class men's singles Heriyanto Arbi, Ardy B. Wiranata, Joko Suprianto, Hermawan Susanto, Alan Budikusuma and Lioe Tiong Ping.
The world strongest men's doubles, Ricky A. Subagja and Rexy Mainaky, are also part of the team along with teammate doubles Gunawan and Bambang Supriyanto as well as Denny Kantono and Antonius.
In the women's singles, Indonesia will rely on badminton queen Susi Susanti, Uber Cup heroine Mia Audina, Yuni Kartika, Yuliani Sentosa and Cindana.
In the women's doubles Indonesia will have the service of Lili Tampi and Finarsih together with Zelin Resiana and Elysa. In the mixed doubles, it is Trikus Haryanto and Minarti Timur, Aryono and Riseu, Flandi Lampele and Dede Hasanah who will strengthen the national team, Kompas reported yesterday. (arf)