Experienced Indonesian players soon to join hands with young shuttlers – Badminton News
Indonesia’s experienced players including Taufik Hidayat, Lilyana Natsir, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan will join hands with young shuttlers as soon as they recover from their injuries.
Despite the absence of these top shuttlers, the Indonesian team delivered a stunning performance in China and reached the semi-final stage of the Sudirman Cup 2011, which is the biggest mixed team tournament.
Taufik Hidayat decided to skip the event to give a chance to young shuttlers to gain experience by playing against the top athletes in the world. Lilyana, Kido and Setiawan could not participate in the event due to injuries. The Badminton Association of
Malaysia (PBSI) replaced these experienced shuttlers with young players for the Sudirman Cup 2011.
Indonesian coach, Christian Hadinata, expressed his views about the return of the experienced shuttlers in the national squad and said, “There is no reason for them not to return to the national team. I’m confident they will be back once their injuries heal.”
While talking about the performance of the young Indonesian team in the Sudirman Cup, the coach said, “I think the younger players in the team have benefited playing in this high quality competition as they were able to witness first hand some of the best
players in the world.”
He further mentioned about the target of the Indonesia team in this prestigious event and said, “We had no set targets before coming to China. We wanted to do the best we could and we are delighted to have maintained Indonesia’s record of reaching the semi-finals
of all 12 Sudirman Cup competitions.”
Indonesia has qualified for the semi-finals in all editions of the Sudirman Cup. They won the opening title of this mixed team event in 1989. In 2007, Indonesian shuttlers lost to the Chinese team in the final battle of the event.
The return of the four world champions including Taufik, Kido, Lilyana and Setiawan will definitely make the Indonesian squad stronger. The injured shuttlers are expected to recuperate from their severe injuries and join the national team in a few weeks.
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