Eleven youth shuttlers nominated for qualifiers

Eleven youth singles shuttlers have been nominated to participate in the approaching Asian Youth Under-19 Championships in March, which will serve as one of the two qualifiers for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.

The 11 shuttlers are five boys’ singles Evert Sukamta, Hermansyah, Riyanto Subagja, Gestano Ganodra, Ichwan Noor Yudha and six girls’ singles Rena Suwarno, Elisabeth Purwaningtyas, Novalia Agustiawati, Yulia Yosephine Susanto, Yeni Asmarani, and Milicent Wiranto.

Only those born between Jan. 1, 1992, and Dec. 31, 1993, are eligible for the Olympics.

Evert, Hermansyah and Rena are currently registered at the national youth training center, while the rest of the nominated shuttlers were selected among the best shuttlers groomed in various prominent badminton clubs.

For example, Riyanto, born in 1993, is one of the 10 best shuttlers of the Djarum club, which hosts the winner of the men’s singles title at the national championship. Riyanto was also the 16-year-old champion at last year’s Auckland International.

National singles youth coach Ronny Agustinus told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the singles shuttlers ought to work hard to at least reach the semifinals of the Asian Youth U19 Championships.

Last year in Kuala Lumpur, Evert lost in the first round, Hermansyah in the third round, while Rena pulled out due to injury.

“They need to build a good ranking for themselves so they get an easier draw at the World Junior Championships in Mexico, which serves as the second qualifier,” Ronny said.

The World Junior Championships two weeks later on April 16-25 in Guadalajara, where Indonesia needs to finish in the top seven to be able to send two boys and two girls for the Youth Olympic Games, which only features singles events.

Countries finishing outside the top seven of the World Junior Championships are only entitled to send one male and one female shuttler to the inaugural Youth Olympics on Aug. 14-26 in Malaysia.

Ronny acknowledged that the country’s youth development, especially in the singles, was lagging behind other countries, including emerging badminton juggernaut Thailand.

At last year’s World Junior Championship in Alor Star, Malaysia, Thais Ratchanok Intanon, who was only 14 at the time, and teammate Porntip Buranaorasertsuk bagged the girls’ singles’ gold and silver medals.
Ratchanok went on to win silver at the SEA Games in Laos.

Indonesia’s male singles Evert only reached the top eight at last year’s World Junior Championship, while Hermansyah failed to advance from the final-32 round.

Indonesia’s best performance at last year’s World Junior Championship’s individual events was winning three silver medals, in the boys, girls and mixed doubles.

In last year’s World Junior Championship team event, Indonesia finished fifth, two places behind Thailand, which trailed China and Malaysia.  

“Reality bites, but we cannot give up. This year is our chance to pedal faster,” Ronny said, adding that a psychological factor and lack of competitive experience would be overcome by attending more Challenge, Satellite and Grand Prix competitions abroad this year.

The national youth shuttlers spent the first six months of last year undergoing physical training at the military academy in Magelang, Central Java, so they could only participate in the National Circuits and in two tournaments abroad: the Asian Youth U19 and the World Junior Championships.