Indonesia’s chances meagre in the 2011 Sudirman Cup as top shuttlers miss the event – Badminton News
Indonesia’s chances of winning the title in the 2011 Sudirman Cup have became doubtful, as many top shuttlers of the country are missing the event, which will take place at Qingdao, China, from Sunday, May 22.
The withdrawal of the Men’s Singles former World and Olympic Champion, Taufik Hidayat, has put the Indonesian team in big trouble. Despite the loss, the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) is optimistic that their young shuttlers will deliver a good
performance at the event.
Head of Athletes Development of PBSI, Hadi Nasri, expressed, “Now the younger shuttlers will have a chance to play in a big international tournament, which will be a great experience for them. Ready or not, they must take this huge responsibility. All we
want is for them to show good fighting spirit every time they play. The results will come second.”
Indonesia is placed in Group B, along with Russia and Malaysia. Indonesian shuttlers will be up against the Russian team on Sunday and will fight against Malaysia on Wednesday, May 25.
The teams are divided in four groups and two teams from each group will enter into the quarter-final stages.
Hadi said, “Right now, we’re only thinking about how to qualify from the group as top finishers because that way, we’d have a relatively easier opponent in the quarters.”
Apart from Taufik, the Men’s Doubles top pair of Hendra Setiawan and Markis Kido and Mixed Doubles top shuttler, Lilyana Natsir, is also not a part of the team in the Sudirman Cup.
Setiawan and Kido are suffering with knee injuries, whereas, Lilyana has received a severe elbow injury, which has forced her to stay at home. Lilyana’s partner, Tantowi Ahmad, will be playing with another colleague in the mixed team championship in China.
Indonesia’s chances in this prestigious mixed-team event are not bright, as China, Denmark, Korea and Malaysia are going to compete with all of their top seeds. All is left to see whether Indonesia’s young shuttlers will be able to prove their worth against
the best players in the world of Badminton.
Tags: