“Our shuttlers were once victorious over a long time at this prestigious badminton event,” Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) chairman Djoko Santoso told the country’s squads Wednesday during a departure ceremony at the national training camp in Cipayung, East Jakarta.

“Thus, it is not an exaggeration to set a target of bringing home both trophies [Thomas and Uber],” Djoko said.

The 10 male shuttlers and 10 female shuttlers will depart to Kuala Lumpur on Friday for the May 9-16 biennial event at Putra Stadium at the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

The target seems a tall order considering Indonesia’s recent accomplishments.

Two years ago in Jakarta, the host’s Uber squad finished runner up and the Thomas squad fell in the semifinals.

The Indonesian Thomas squad last captured the trophy in Guangzhou, China, in 2002, defeating  Malaysia 3-2 in the final. The Uber Cup was last brought home in 1994, when Indonesia beat China 3-2 in the final in Jakarta.

Since the Thomas Cup’s inception in 1948, Indonesia has won 13 times, China seven times and Malaysia five times. China has won the Uber Cup, founded in 1956, 11 times, Japan five times, and Indonesia and the United States three times each.

China has dominated both tournaments of late, winning the past three Thomas Cups — in Jakarta in 2004, in Sendai in 2006, and in Jakarta again in 2008.

The badminton powerhouse has also retained the Uber Cup for more than a decade; bringing it home consecutively from 1998 to 2008.

Indonesia’s shuttlers have failed to excel in individual events all year.

One highlight saw Indonesian men’s singles player Taufik Hidayat reach the semifinals of the All England Super Series in March.

However, Taufik and his junior Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka fell in the second round of the Swiss Open Super Series. At the Badminton Asia Championship Grand Prix in April, only Liliyana Natsir and Devin Lahardi reached the semifinals in the mixed doubles draw.

Despite these less-than-inspiring results, national head coach Christian Hadinata remains cautiously upbeat.

“We can consider ourselves the underdog in view of these past results. So, let’s just play freely. Being an underdog is not always a bad thing. The pressure will be on China to defend its victories,” Christian said.

Indonesia has been drawn with Australia and India in the men’s event and with Australia and Denmark in the women’s.

In the Uber Cup, China has been drawn with hosts Malaysia and the United State and in the Thomas Cup with South Korea and Peru.

The Indonesian Uber squad, which will face Denmark in its second qualifying match Monday, was given a lift by the withdrawal of Denmark’s number one women’s singles player Tine Rasmussen due to injury.

Tine, who currently is ranked number seven in the world, was victorious at the recent European Championships and the All England event.

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