November 02, 2009
Ami Afriatni
Indonesia's Badminton Titles No Cause for Complacency, Says Coach
Two titles at the French Open Super Series put an exclamation point on Indonesia’s return to top-flight badminton prominence.
Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir won the mixed doubles crown to end a 10-month absence from the top of the podium, and men’s doubles top seeds Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan added to their Japan Open title.
Success in Paris gave Indonesia Super Series titles in three consecutive tournaments, a sharp contrast to going seven events without a victory after Nova and Liliyana’s Malaysia Open triumph in January. In between the Japan and France tournaments, Simon Santoso won the men’s singles title at the Denmark Open.
National team head coach Christian Hadinata said he was satisfied with the senior players’ performances.
"They’ve showed better performances since the Japan Super Series in September. Our target to improve their achievements in the second semester is fulfilled," he told the
Jakarta Globe.
However, the coach still found plenty to criticize. He pointed to inconsistent performances in men’s and women’s singles and used Simon as an example.
In addition to his Denmark title, Simon reached the semifinals in Japan by beating countryman Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. In between, though, he made a second-round exit in Paris against Joachim Persson of Denmark.
"Sony played even worse. He could not reach the final of those tournaments," Christian said.
Women’s singles shuttler Adriyanti Firdasari also also endured up-and-down form. She upset top seed Zhou Mi of Hong Kong in the Japan Open first round but lost to unseeded Nicole Grether of Germany in the second round.
Adriyanti beat Denmark Open champion Tine Rasmussen in the second round in Paris but lost to unseeded Yao Jie of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
Christian said the form of the country’s young shuttlers was another concern.
"It makes it hard to put our hopes on them to cover for the seniors in international tournaments. It seems like the seniors have to struggle alone to reach the final of every tournament," he said. "It will be a hard work since we have will start to promote the young players to cover the seniors next year.”
His assessment of the youngsters was not all negative. He praised the improving Rian Sukmawan and Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki, and he saluted the juniors who competed at the World Junior Badminton Championships in Malaysia.
Indonesia improved on its 2008 showing, moving from seventh place to fifth, and brought home three silver medals and one bronze. It won only one bronze at the 2008 tournament in India.
the Jakarta Globe link -- http://thejakartaglobe.com/badminton/indonesias-badminton-titles-no-cause-for-complacency-says-coach/339184
Very tough!
INA ensures an all-INA Final in Paris tomorrow!
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I guess it's the Halloween mood last night 
