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PBSI harbors hope for two titles at World Championships
Lius Pongoh
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Lius Pongoh. Antara
In spite of losing its mixed doubles main players to injury, the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) is still hoping to win two titles at the BWF World Championships to be held on Aug. 25-31 in Copenhagen.
Last year in Guangzhou, China, Indonesian shuttlers Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir and Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan brought home mixed doubles and men's doubles crowns, respectively.
However, Tontowi/Liliyana will not be able to defend their title this year due to Tontowi sustaining a leg injury at the Australian Open in June. Their place on the team has been given to young pair Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto, who will face Japan's Hirokatsu Hashimoto/Miyuki Maeda in the first round.
Simon Santoso will also unexpectedly be on the Indonesian team. He was handed the slot for the championships after China's Du Pengyu withdrew due to injury.
'Realistically, we only have one shot for a title, but we are still hoping to grab two crowns. We have a chance in the men's singles and mixed doubles events,' team manager Lius Pongoh told a press conference on Wednesday.
He said that Praveen/Debby could at least advance to the third round because, based on the draw, they would meet opponents they had defeated before in the first and second round of the tournament.
Praveen/Debby defeated Hashimoto/Maeda at the 2014 Japan Open. Should they advance to the second round, they will face compatriots Markis Kido/Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth, who received bye in the first round. Praveen/Debby also defeated the veteran players in the 2014 India Open.
'I've personally set a target of advancing to the semifinals, but it is likely we will face Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen ' who have defeated us twice ' in the quarterfinals. They will be tough opponents,' said Praveen, adding that as unexpected as his participation was in his first World Championships, he was hoping for a surprising result.
He added that he had learned that many European players tended to be emotional but mature in handling on-court situations.
The Indonesian team comprises 24 shuttlers, who will compete in all five events ' men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles events.
