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Indonesia sends only two pairs to All England quarters
Off to quarterfinals: Indonesian Debby Susanto (left) returns the shuttle during her mixed doublesâ match with partner Praveen Jordan against Japanese Kenta Kazuno and Ayane Kurihara during the All England badminton championships in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday
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Off to quarterfinals: Indonesian Debby Susanto (left) returns the shuttle during her mixed doublesâ match with partner Praveen Jordan against Japanese Kenta Kazuno and Ayane Kurihara during the All England badminton championships in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday. Debby/Praveen won 13-21, 21-14, 21-18 to secure a quarterfinal spot. (Courtesy of PBSI) (left) returns the shuttle during her mixed doublesâ match with partner Praveen Jordan against Japanese Kenta Kazuno and Ayane Kurihara during the All England badminton championships in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday. Debby/Praveen won 13-21, 21-14, 21-18 to secure a quarterfinal spot. (Courtesy of PBSI)
Off to quarterfinals: Indonesian Debby Susanto (left) returns the shuttle during her mixed doubles' match with partner Praveen Jordan against Japanese Kenta Kazuno and Ayane Kurihara during the All England badminton championships in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday. Debby/Praveen won 13-21, 21-14, 21-18 to secure a quarterfinal spot. (Courtesy of PBSI)
The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) took the blame for letting Indonesian shuttlers play below par in the All England second round on Thursday, sending only two pairs to the quarterfinals.
'We have to deal with the failure and we're responsible for it. I hope we all can learn something out of this and can do better in the future,' the association's head of development, Rexy Mainaky, said in a statement.
In the quarterfinals on Friday, Indonesia will have world No. 2 Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, who trashed compatriots Edi Subaktiar and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in the second round, as well as world No. 8 Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto, who outwitted Kenta Kazuno and Ayane Kurihara of Japan.
Tontowi and Liliyana are set to meet world No. 7 Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock of England. The English pair beat Kim Gi Jung and Shin Seung Chan of South Korea in the second round.
Despite achieving a strong 7-3 domination over Adcock and Adcock in the previous matches, 2014's All England champs Tontowi and Liliyana said that they would remain alert in the quarterfinal meet.
'We're facing up against the hosts, who are great shuttlers, in the quarters. Last year, we managed to beat them in a slight win. Still, we have to be very careful. We must play well; we must win,' said Liliyana.
Meanwhile, Praveen and Debby will face world No. 3 Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin of China in the Friday showdown. Liu and Bao outclassed compatriots Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong in the second round.
Praveen said he was confident about meeting the powerhouse opponents in the quarters. 'There's nothing to be worried about. We just have to be able to anticipate their speed and powerful performance.'
Rexy said that he expected the remaining two pairs would reach the finals.
Indonesia came to the Birmingham badminton championships with 28 shuttlers, consisting of four male pairs, three female pairs, four male singles, two female singles and four mixed pairs.
The 2016 All England saw a series of surprise losses in the first two days, sending off favorites like Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei and China's Chen Long in men's singles, as well as Indonesia's Muhammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in men's doubles, to the losing side.
World No. 2 Lee got knocked out by B. Sai Praneeth of India in a straight 24-22, 22-20 in the first round on Wednesday.
World No. 1 Chen bowed down to compatriot Xue Song in a 21-19, 21-17 loss on Thursday, while world No. 2 Ahsan and Hendra was stopped 21-15, 15-21, 21-17 by Malaysia's Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan.
Rexy urged the failed shuttlers to get things sorted out ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games, which will run in August.
'[The All England tournament] is a good exercise for those who are going to the Olympics, which will impose a higher pressure,' he added.
