Unruly Mia likely to miss team events
JAKARTA (JP): The country's number one women's singles shuttler, Mia Audina, could be kept off the team for the Sudirman Cup and World Championships next month due to undisciplined behavior.
Chief of athlete development for the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar said on Thursday Mia would be excluded if her "technical and nontechnical" performance was judged unsuitable for the major competitions held over two consecutive weeks.
"If she cannot maintain her condition during her leave, then we'll definitely drop her from the team. We are still preparing other shuttlers anyway," he said.
Indonesia will send a 30-member team to both events in Copenhagen from May 10 to May 24.
PBSI is grooming women's singles players Cindana, Lydia Djaelawidjaja, Meiluawati and Ellen Angelina to take over if Mia is absent.
"We still have no idea how many shuttlers will compete in both events, but the International Badminton Federation (IBF) sets a quota of 30 members in a team," Siregar said.
PBSI sent a warning letter to Mia, who skipped practice after the All England championships last month. She asked permission from coach Liang Chiusia, saying that she was set to marry Surinamese boyfriend Tylio Lobman.
Chiusia said she would not be able to prepare Mia for the events in a period of less than a month and told her she should return to training by April 7 at the latest.
Siregar said he did not know Mia's whereabouts.
"Her father gave me phone and fax numbers. I have contacted both but always failed to get through. So I don't know exactly where is she."
Mia's father Rivan Tjiptawan is opposed to the marriage, saying Lobman is not the right man for his daughter.
Siregar said PBSI had not decided on sanctions for the 19-year-old shuttler and acknowledged the country still needed Mia.
He did not rule out the possibility of dismissing Mia of the National Badminton Center if her behavior remained unsatisfactory.
"We are still hoping that she will change but we can't just dismiss her due to her prolonged absence. If the PBSI chairman considers her attitude as unforgivable, maybe we'll dismiss her."
Separately, the PBSI official in charge of talent scouting, Icuk Sugiarto, blamed the organization for indecisiveness in handling Mia.
"I agree with PBSI sending a warning letter. But I think a warning is not enough. PBSI must punish Mia for her behavior."
He said other shuttlers would lose respect for the organization due to its hesitancy.
Icuk said Mia should be grounded and barred from competing in several tournaments.
"It will be better if PBSI forbids Mia from competing for another country by lobbying the IBF," Icuk was quoted by Antara as saying. (yan)