Susi falls victim to her play style at Asian Games
Susi falls victim to her play style at Asian Games
JAKARTA (JP): Nerves and a slow start are cited as the main
reasons why the world badminton queen, Indonesia's Susi Susanti,
crashed to Japan's unheralded Hisako Mizui in the Asian Games
semifinals, according to national coach Indra Gunawan.
"The late start, coupled with nervousness, prompted her to
make many unforced errors," Indra told reporters on Saturday
after attending the National Sports Governing Body (KONI)'s
meeting evaluating the Indonesian squad's off-target results
during the Asiad in Hiroshima.
Indra said Susi's nerves were further frazzled by deafening
support coming from the Japanese spectators in the audience.
"I don't know exactly why she was nervous," Indra said. He
suggested that maybe the mental pressure that stems from
representing one's country at the Asian Games was heavier than
that of other championships which emphasize individuals and
individual performance.
Reiterating what KONI's chairman Surono said earlier, Indra
also felt that Susi's loss was shocking and unexpected. He added
that it may be necessary to add new, more specialized coaches in
order to prepare budding junior players for future events,
particularly the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
Indra said that presently, Indonesia has the world's five best
male players, Joko Supriyanto, Ardy B. Wiranata, Hermawan
Susanto, Alan Budikusuma and Heriyanto Arbi.
An All-Indonesia final in men's badminton, powered by the five
at the Asiad, confirmed the return of the crown from China to
Indonesia.
He said that the five guarantee victory and should be fielded
in prestigious championships only. However, Indra said, given the
five's performance records, he predicted that he would most
likely rely only on Ardi B. Wiranata and Heriyanto Arbi in the
Atlanta Olympics.
Indra stressed the urgency of grooming the successors to the
current athletes, otherwise "we will be left behind China and
South Korea again."
Suweno
KONI's chief executive Suweno told reporters after the
evaluation meeting that he accepted all responsibility for the
poor showing of the Indonesian squad during the Games in
Hiroshima and that he would account for the failure during the
body's upcoming congress in December or sometime early next year.
"I am responsible for our Asiad team's failure to reach the
set target. And if the congress decides to dismiss me, I will
gladly give up my position as KONI's chief executive," Suweno
said. He vowed that the next congress would be a forum of honest
and self-corrective evaluation.
Saturday's evaluation meeting was supposed to be attended by
all of the chairpersons of 23 sports bodies which took part in
the Games. However, three of them failed to appear and not all of
them finished their reports. Though most were tight-lipped, some
were willing to comment.
Suweno stated that even though Indonesia failed to reach their
mark, the squad's performance during the Games showed
considerable improvement. A number of Indonesian athletes
succeeded in coming close to Asian records but were outdone in
the end by other countries.
He added that "unseen circumstances," such as low wind
pressure during the wind surfing competitions and participation
by five former Soviet republics, were also to blame for the poor
showing of the Indonesian surfing team. (arf)