Top shuttlers to miss World Cup c'ships
Top shuttlers to miss World Cup c'ships
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian shuttlers have already cleared some
of their toughest hurdles in the World Cup badminton
championships, to be held here from Sept. 13 to 17, because
several world best-players will miss the invitational meet.
Rudy Hartono, the international affairs official of the
Badminton Association of Indonesia confirmed yesterday that world
number two, Park Sung-woo of South Korea, and Denmark's top
player, Thomas Stuer Lauridsen, have opted out of the US$180,000
tournament due to injury.
"We have invited all top ranking players, and unfortunately
Park and Lauridsen were forced to pull out," Rudy, a former All-
England eight-time winner, said.
Park tore his Achilles tendon during a quarterfinal match
against Olympic champion Alan Budikusuma in the Indonesia Open
two weeks ago. Lauridsen suffered even worse pain, in May, during
the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, which forces
him out of competition for at least six months.
Rudy said that the organizers will need a recommendation from
the International Badminton Federation over possible substitutes
for the injured shuttlers.
Host Indonesia will parade 16 players in the 54-field event.
World champion and World Cup title holder Hariyanto Arbi,
Indonesia Open winner Ardy Wiranata and Alan line up the men's
singles team. Indonesian women's singles squad comprises Susi
Susanti, Mia Audina and Yuliani Sentosa.
The annual championships, the 15th since 1981, will pit the
world's top 16 singles players both in men's and ladies' events;
best eight men's pairs and eight women's tandems; and eight top
ranked mixed doubles teams. They will play round-robin matches.
Each country is eligible to field only two singles players,
two doubles teams and a mixed doubles pair. "But Indonesia was
granted the privilege to come with three men's singles and three
ladies' singles due to their outstanding prowess," Rudy said.
Indonesian shuttlers have been dominating the world badminton
singles rankings for the past three years.
Singles players will be split into four groups, with each
group winner advancing to the semifinals. Doubles players will be
divided into two groups, with the top two teams going to the
semifinals.
The tournament, organized by the International Management
Group, has been brought here four times. The group, which also
holds the right to organize another five top-rated badminton
tournaments in the world annually, signed yesterday a two-year
broadcasting agreement with Indosiar, the country's youngest
private television station. (amd)