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View all search resultsIndonesia's shuttlers hope for two titles on home turf
Rexy Mainaky - JP/Arief SuhardimanAfter another failure at the recent Sudirman Cup, Indonesia is looking to redeem itself at the upcoming badminton World Championships, which will be hosted in Jakarta from Aug
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Rexy Mainaky - JP/Arief Suhardiman
After another failure at the recent Sudirman Cup, Indonesia is looking to redeem itself at the upcoming badminton World Championships, which will be hosted in Jakarta from Aug. 10 to 16.
The men's and mixed doubles sections will again be Indonesia's best hopes for a title, but the team is not ruling out its chances in the women's doubles, considering its performance in last year's Asian Games.
'We expect two titles in the men's and women's doubles. However, the women's doubles event will also have a chance if Greysia [Polii] and Nitya [Krishinda Maheswari] can carry their momentum from the 2014 Asian Games,' team manager Rexy Mainaky said in a statement.
Greysia and Nitya won the women's doubles competition at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, to give Indonesia its first gold for 36 years in the quadrennial multi-sporting event.
However, male doubles pair Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan and mixed doubles pair Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir remain Indonesia's favorites given their track record in the major tournament.
Both pairs won titles in 2013 before being prevented from defending their titles the following year due to injuries.
Tontowi suffered an ankle injury while Ahsan suffered a recurrence of lower back pain. To add to Indonesia's woes, Simon Santoso, Indonesia's hopeful in the men's singles, also had to withdraw from the tournament due to dengue fever.
In the absence of its title holders in Copenhagen, Denmark, Indonesia brought home one bronze medal through Tommy Sugiarto in the men's singles.
The Indonesian players will be hosting their opponents in August against the backdrop of another slump in the Sudirman Cup, the world team championship that is named after the country's former badminton player Dick Sudirman.
They were beaten by host and defending champion China 1-3 in the semifinals in Dongguan last weekend. Hendra and Ahsan got off to promising campaign by beating rivals Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, but their teammates faded as Indonesia lost points in the men's singles, women's singles and women's doubles.
China eventually won the championship for the 10th time by overcoming Japan 3-0 in the finals.
'All the players did their best. China made a clean sweep of points in the previous stages but we were able to steal a point thanks to Ahsan and Hendra,' Rexy said.
Rexy also hailed Firman Abdul Kholik, Jonatan Christie and Ihsan Maulana Mustofa's performances, even though they were unable to contribute a point during their debuts in the tournament.
Indonesia must rest its hopes on these young players following the withdrawal of their seniors.
'This will be a precious experience for them. Hopefully they can learn a thing or two from the tournament. Overall, the combination of senior and junior players definitely sends a warning to our opponents and it is a good thing for Indonesian [badminton] regeneration,' added Rexy.
For the World Championships, badminton's version of a tennis Grand Slam, Indonesia is preparing 22 shuttlers. Tommy, who has withdrawn from national training but has a better ranking than his fellow Indonesians, will spearhead the country's men's singles hopes along with Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka.
The Australia Open Super Series on May 26-31 in Sydney and the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier on June 2-7 in Jakarta will be their testing grounds prior to the big tournament.
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Indonesia's World Championships squad
Men's singles
Tommy Sugiarto, Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka
Women' singles
Maria Febe Kusumastuti, Linda Weni Fanetri
Men's doubles
Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, Hendra Aprida Gunawan/Andrei Adistia, Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi
Women's doubles
Greysia Polii/Nitya Krishinda Maheswari, Pia Zebadiah Bernadet/Rizki Amelia Pradipta, Vita Marissa/Shendy Puspa Irawati
Mixed doubles
Tontowi Ahmad/Lilyana Natsir, Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto, Riky Widianto/Richi Puspita Dili
