Ye to miss Indonesia Open
Ye to miss Indonesia Open
JAKARTA (JP): China's star-studded singles players account for
most of the absentees of the Indonesia Open badminton
championships here next month.
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) announced
yesterday that world champion Ye Zhaoying and China's top two
men's singles Dong Jiong and Su Jun had confirmed their absence,
but failed to give detailed reasons.
"China's refusal to field its best shuttlers looks to serve as
a reaction to PBSI's decision to drop its exhausted stars out of
its team for the Asia Cup," PBSI foreign affairs official Rudy
Hartono said.
Indonesia rested men's singles world champion Hariyanto Arbi,
badminton queen Susi Susanti and triumphant doubles team of Rexy
Mainaky and Ricky Subagja in the Asia Cup in Qingdao which wound
up on Sunday.
A weakened Indonesian side, however, stole the show. Former
world number one Joko Suprianto doused the fire of China's
Sudirman Cup hero Sunday in straight set 15-7, 15-8 for his first
title of the year.
Indonesia's Uber Cup heroine Mia Audina upset Chinese number
two Han Jingna in the semifinals, before crashing to world number
one Bang Soo-hyun in a thrilling three-setter. Mia lost 11-1, 2-
11, 11-12.
Reigning world champion Ye was absent from the tournament at
home due to an injury, but her decision came after Susi's
announcement to take a break following her defeats in the World
Championships last month.
Ye will skip the US$170,000 Indonesia Open for the second
straight time after her upset win over Susi in the 1993 final.
"We never worry about missing several big names. A lot more
world top players will turn up for the championships," Rudy, All-
England eight-time champion, said.
European stars, including Denmark's All-England title holder
Poul Erik Hoyer-Larsen, as well as those from Asia will make a
trip here from July 12 to 16.
Asia Cup winner Bang will for the first time top the seeding
list above arch-rival Susi, who lost her number one ranking in
the World Championships.
The Indonesia Open is the third stop of the second half of the
season in the world badminton Grand Prix series. It succeeds the
Malaysia Open which starts next week and the Singapore Open to be
played the week after.
The International Badminton Federation has announced that the
Grand Prix series serve as qualifying rounds for the 1996 Olympic
Games in Atlanta. The race for the Olympic berths will be
completed during the All England championships next year. (amd)