Simon Santoso will super head Indonesian squad in the Thomas Cup Qualifying Round – badminton news
Indonesia’s top shuttler, Simon Santoso will super head Indonesian squad in the Thomas Cup Qualifying Round, which is set to be played in Macau, from February 13-19. This is for the first time in Simon’s professional career that has he secured a chance to lead the national team in the qualifying round of Thomas Cup.
Simon, who is currently placed at number 10 in Men’s Singles world rankings, has been playing impressive badminton for the last one year and has managed to remain ahead of his compatriot and previously top seed, Taufik Hidayat, who has moved to number 12 in the world.
Indonesia has been placed in Group B along with the host Macau, Singapore and India. Indonesian shuttlers will start their journey in the qualifying round by playing against Macau on February 13. In the following two days, Indonesia will take on Singapore and India respectively.
The top four teams will be selected from Asian Zone to participate in the Thomas Cup Finals, which is regarded as the most prestigious team-event tournament in badminton world. The venue for this championship will be Wuhan, China.
The former Olympic and World Champion Taufik, who has been leading the Indonesian squad in Thomas Cup for the last several years, has slipped down to number two position in Indonesia in Men’s Singles category and is happy that young Simon is leading the team in Thomas Cup.
Taufik said, “It’s time for Simon to take a greater responsibility as the team spearhead. He will be facing the No. 1 players from different countries and that will sharpen his mentality.”
Christian Hadinata, who has been appointed as the coordinator of Indonesian squads for Uber Cup and Thomas Cup, said that shuttlers need not to think over who are their opponents but should remain determined to beat everyone who they find on the opposite side in the court.
He said, “Whoever we draw, we have to be ready. We know the opponents and they know us.”
All top shuttlers of Indonesia will compete in the qualifying round to help their team in securing their ticket in the Thomas Cup Finals.
Indonesia is expected to qualify for the Finals considering that all players in the national squad have a strong track record against the shuttlers from Singapore, India and Macau.
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