OLYMPIC CHAMPION SEARCHING FOR A PARTNER by Mike Grossman (from a report filed by Y.M. Fong) September 20, 1996 (New Shuttlenws) - 1996 Olympic men's doubles gold medalist Ricky Subagja of Indonesia may be searching for a new partner soon as co-gold medalist and current partner Rexy Mainaky seriously contemplates retirement from the competitive scene. Mainaky did not enter the ongoing Indonesian national championships with Subagja and Indonesian men's doubles coach Christian Hadinata has begun to experiment with different doubles combinations. For the Indonesian national championships, Subagja was teamed up with Chandra Wijaya. Wijaya had been paired previously with Ade Sutrisna and the Sutrisna-Wijaya duo are ranked in the top ten internationally. The Subagja-Wijaya combination had a good result at the Indonesian nationals, reaching the semifinals. In that match, the new pair extended the Olympic bronze medalists Denny Kantono and Antonius to 3 games before succumbing 15-7, 11-15 and 9-15. The Subagja-Wijaya teamup may not be final as Mainaky may still decide to play on and may enter international events such as the upcoming U.S. Open with Subagja. Another top Indonesian doubles player, Bambang Suprianto, is also searching for a partner. The veteran Rudy Gunawan who had teamed up with Suprianto after the 1992 Barcelona Olympics has retired from serious competition. At the Indonesian nationals, Bambang Suprianto was paired with the relatively unknown Nova Widianto. Like the Subagja-Wijaya combo, Suprianto and Widianto reached the semifinals where they lost to another Christian Hadinata experimental pair, Tony Gunawan and Dicky Purwotsugiono, 8-15 and 6-15. New Shuttlenws (e-mail: n.shuttlenws@genie.com)