Indonesian shuttlers are looking to bounce back from a string of losses at the BCA Indonesia Open 2014 badminton tournament that began its six days of competition Tuesday at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium in Senayan, Jakarta.

Indonesia'€™s Badminton Association (PBSI) head of development and achievement Rexy Mainaky tried to sow seeds of optimism among the home players, saying that they had reasonable title shots in the men'€™s doubles and mixed doubles events.

'€œWe still have a chance to defend our title [in the men'€™s doubles]. Ahsan/Hendra need to prove their worth by defeating the South Korean pair,'€ Rexy told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

In New Delhi last month, the world'€™s number one pair failed to contribute a point in the semifinal matches against rival Malaysia as Indonesia'€™s bid for its first Thomas Cup trophy in a decade faltered. Indonesia also failed to win the Uber Cup after its women'€™s team was beaten by India in the quarterfinals.

In last week'€™s Japan Open Super Series tournament, Ahsan/Hendra, the defending champions and only Indonesian players to have made it to the finals, were thrashed by South Korean'€™s Lee Yong-dae/Yoo Yeon-seong 12-21, 24-26. The result made their head-to-head record 1-3 to the Lee/Yoo pair.

According to Hendra, the Koreans played really well in the tournament while he and Ahsan didn'€™t prepare properly after participating in Thomas Cup.

'€œSince Hendra/Ahsan are the defending champions, they need to participate in the tournament even without having the proper preparation,'€ said Rexy.

PBSI previously revealed that it was targeting two titles in the US$750,000 Jakarta tournament, with hopes pinned on Indonesian favorites Hendra/Ahsan and Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir.

Tontowi/Liliyana are still seeking their first title in the tournament, which this season has a new title sponsor.

Both doubles pairs are expected to add more to their title collections, including those from the All England Open and the World Championships.

Rexy hoped that other shuttlers could make surprise showings in the tournament, which was declared the best organized badminton tournament in the world in 2012 and 2013.

Hendra/Ahsan will begin their campaign against Mads Conrad-Petersen/Mads Pieler Kolding of Denmark in the first round on Wednesday.

Tontowi/Liliyana was scheduled to play against Michael Fuchs/Birgit Michels of Germany Tuesday night.

Also playing on Tuesday in the main round of the mixed doubles event are Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto against Robert Blair/Imogen Bankier of Scotland; Gideon Markus Fernaldi/Rizki Amelia Pradipta against Danny Bawa Chrisnanta/Yu Tan Vanessa Neo of Singapore; and Muhammad Rijal/Vita Marissa will play Chris Langridge/Heather Olver of England.

The main round of all other events will be played on Wednesday.

In the men'€™s singles, Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who didn'€™t play with the team in the Thomas Cup, is back on court facing a momentous challenge against top seed and world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

Simon Santoso, who had a bye in the qualifying round after Du Pengyu withdrew, and Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka may also expect tough opposition from Marc Zwiebler of Germany and Chen Long of China respectively.

Tommy Sugiarto, whose Japan Open bid crashed in the quarterfinals at the hands of eventual champion Chong Wei, will face Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.

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