Tactics and fitnessprime concerns as Sony heads to Denmark
Tactics and fitnessprime concerns as Sony heads to Denmark
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Asian champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro is to be included in the
Indonesian badminton squad for the Denmark Open even though his
coach is concerned about the 19-year-old's tactical play and
physical condition.
Sony captured his 2002 Asian title by defeating senior
compatriot Taufik Hidayat in Bangkok, but his performance has
since been lackluster, with the recent dismal runs at the
Indonesia Open and Malaysia Open.
"He has yet to improve his tactical regime during play as well
as his physical fitness," coach Joko Supriyanto told The Jakarta
Post at the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung, Central
Jakarta, on Thursday.
"A change in tactics is crucial during the game. It appears
that Sony, on finding his opponents hard to deal with, can't
immediately shift to another tactical approach. He needs to
improve in this area," Joko said.
"Sony needs to be more determined and play in more
tournaments," he said.
Sony crashed in the third round of the Indonesia Open early
this month, losing to South Korean Lee Hyun-il. He reached the
quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open only to be beaten by the
host's Wong Choong Hann.
Sony, whose best result this year was a semifinal berth at the
Swiss Open, conceded his weaknesses but said he was starting to
improve.
"Hopefully in Denmark, I'll be able to go all out without
being afraid of running out of stamina," he said after
participating in a morning training session.
He defends his title in Jakarta in October. But he will be up
against a stiff challenge in Denmark, which he will have to work
hard to overcome.
He is one of the three singles Indonesia will be sending to
Aarhus, the venue of the Denmark Open, which will run from Oct.
23 to Oct. 28. The other two singles are Indonesia Open champion
Taufik Hidayat, and Rony Agustinus.
Rony will head directly to Denmark from the Netherlands after
having competed in the Dutch Open, where he lost his opening
game.
The Danish tournament, which provides a total of US$170,000 in
cash prizes, is one of the qualifying events for the 2004 Athens
Olympics.
With regard of Sony and Taufik, Joko said that both players
would have equally good chances in the tournament.
"Hopefully, Taufik will continue with his confident run which
earned him the Indonesia Open championship.
"However, our focus will be on how the players can collect
points for Olympic qualification. They might not win the
championship, but they must keep themselves in the Olympic
running by reaching the semifinals or finals," he said.
"They must be able to break into the top eight in the IBF
(International Badminton Federation) final rankings, which would
allow them to avoid the top seeds early in the Olympics," he
said.
Sony is currently ranked seventh, while Taufik is still 11th
in the IBF rankings.
Indonesian squad for the Denmark Open
Men's singles: Taufik Hidayat, Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Rony Agustinus
Men's doubles: Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian, Candra Wijaya/Halim
Heryanto, Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto, Sigit Budiarto/Tri
Kusharyanto, Nova Widianto/Anggun Nugroho
Women's doubles: Jo Novita/Vita Nurlita, Eny Erlangga/Lilyana
Natsir, Vita Marissa/Eny Widiowati
Mixed doubles: Nova Widianto/Vita Marissa, Anggun Nugroho/Eny
Widiowati.