Maria eager to silence critics at World Championships

Agnes Winarti ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 07/25/2009 1:23 PM  |  Headlines

Maria Kristin Yulianti, Indonesia's top women's badminton player, is looking to carry her outstanding Olympic form over to the World Championships in Hyderabad, India.

Indonesia will send 19 shuttlers, including Taufik Hidayat, who now plays independently as a pro.

For Maria, the championships, which run from Aug. 10 to 16, will provide an opportunity to bounce back from a dip in performance. She won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics last year, before stumbling to below-par performances from one tournament to another, partly due to a knee injury.

Maria has set her sights high, saying she is determined to win the women's singles title to quash public doubt over her abilities.

"I've always dreamed of becoming world champion," she said.

"Playing at the World Championships is such a prestigious opportunity. I won't waste this chance."

She was speaking on the sidelines of a training session at the national badminton training camp in Cipayung, East Jakarta, on Friday.

The knee injury kept her out of the All England and Swiss Open tournaments, as well as the season-opening Malaysia and Korea Super Series tournaments.

Maria also made first-round exits at the Grand Prix Gold India Open in March and the Indonesia Open Super Series in June.

She said she was looking forward to avenging her defeat in Jakarta to China's Xie Xingfang.

Maria, who lost to Zhang Ning in the second round of the 2007 World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, said she was determined to bounce back at this year's event.

"I won't let people harbor doubt about me," said Maria, who along with teammates have just completed intensive physical drills at the Cilangkap Military Headquarters.

"I'll show them I can do it."

Part of the physical workout was running round a 400-meter track for 90 minutes twice a week since the beginning of July.

"At first it was excruciating, because we weren't used to jogging that long, but after some time I felt I was gaining more endurance in my game," said the 24-year-old.

Coach Marleve Mainaky urged his prot*g* to focus on the game.

"The only way to cast off public doubts is by showing an improved performance," he said.

"The result on court is 99 percent decided by the athlete alone. As a coach, I can only tip them with support. I hope she can at least break into the final eight."

The Indonesian No. 2 women's singles player is Adrianti Firdasari.

Besides two women's singles players, the Indonesian squad is made up of three players in the men's singles, three pairs in the men's doubles, and two pairs each in the women's singles and mixed doubles.

In the first round, Maria will face Swedish shuttler Sophia Hansson, while Adrianti will meet Belgian Nathalie Descamps.

"Although the draw looks OK for us, we have to stay alert against our opponents," Maria said.

The championships will feature 500 players from 45 countries.

Indonesian squad

Men's singles: Taufik Hidayat, Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Simon Santoso

Women's singles: Maria Kristin Yulianti, Adrianti Firdasari

Men's doubles: Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan, Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki/Rian Sukmawan, Mohammad Ahsan/Bona Septano

Women's doubles: Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii, Shendy Puspa Irawati/Meiliana Jauhari

Mixed doubles: Nova Widianto/Liliyana Natsir, Devin Lahardi Fitriawan/Lita Nurlita

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