INDONESIAN PLAYERS NOT READY TO DEFEND THOMAS CUP

April 15, 1996 (D.Shuttlenws) - In reports filtering out of the Indonesian
badminton organisation PBSI, the Indonesian men's coaching staff are said
to be unhappy about the readiness of their team to play in the Thomas Cup
finals scheduled for late May in Hong Kong.

Heryanto Arbi, the world men's singles champion, has reportedly been ill
and unable to particpate in special Thomas Cup training activities.

Joko Suprianto, currently ranked number one in the world, was defeated by
world number 7 Ardy Wiranata in a recent sparring session held in matchplay
conditions.

The coaches were also concerned about the form of Hermawan Susanto and have
pulled him out of the Asian badminton championships scheduled for this week
in Surabaya, Indonesia. Susanto will remain in training with the other top
Indonesian players who had previously been held back from competing in
Surabaya.

The doubles team coached by Christian Hadinata are said to be in better
form than the singles players with the two top pairs of Subagja-Mainaky and
Antonius-Kantono performing well.

The conditioning and reflexes of the veteran Rudy Gunawan are said to be
causing some concern as he and partner Bambang Suprianto are now being
regularly outplayed by Antonius and Denny Kantono.

When asked about these reports, a prominent Asian coach warned that the
Indonesians may be playing mind games with the other contenders for the
Thomas Cup. He said that all of the top Asian badminton countries take
the Thomas Cup more seriously than any other competition and that the
Indonesians will be more than ready to defend the Thomas Cup in May.


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