By Ami Afriatni
Jakarta: Indonesian badminton officials are targeting a strong finish for the country’s shuttlers at next week’s Sudirman Cup, world badminton’s mixed-team championships that Indonesia has only ever won once before — back at the inaugural event in 1989.
“Clinching a spot in the semifinals is a must, and going to the final will be great,” Gita Wirjawan, the president of the Indonesian Badminton Association, or PBSI, said on Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the association’s 64th anniversary. “Of course it will be a tough task for the shuttlers as the other competitors are getting stronger. But we expect another surprise.”
The biennial Sudirman Cup, taking place from May 11 to 17 in Dongguan, China, this year, was named after Dick Sudirman, a founder of the PBSI, and was first contested in Jakarta in 1989.
The home side won that event, but has been shut out since, despite reaching the final six more times.
China, the defending champion, has won it nine times, and South Korea three times.
Indonesia won’t meet either of these Asian powerhouses in the group stage of the competition, having been drawn rather favorably with Denmark — which will be without five of its top doubles shuttlers because of a sponsorship spat — and England in the preliminary round, where it will lean on its seasoned doubles teams to rack up the points while giving its largely untested singles shuttlers a chance to prove themselves.
“The team is a real mix of juniors who usually play in international challenger series and seniors who are experienced in top-tier tournaments,” Gita said. “This is our effort to boost regeneration among players by combining both. We hope the seniors will display their capability and serve as good role models for the juniors. We’ve been doing the best we can. It’s just about time.”
The anniversary celebration at the PBSI’s national training camp in East Jakarta also doubled as a send-off for the 11-man, nine-woman team heading to Dongguan, with men’s doubles star Hendra Setiawan, a veteran of the 2011 and 2013 Sudirman Cups, named team captain.
Rexy Mainaky, the PBSI’s head of athlete development, conceded that winning the tournament was a long shot, given the gulf in talent and experience between the doubles players and their singles peers.
“Our players’ individual rankings vary greatly, while other teams have more high-ranked players. But we’re talking about a team event,” he said. “We have strong men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles pairs. That should be more than enough to motivate the youngsters in the men and women’s singles.”
–Jakarta Globe
