Ami Afriatni

Nova Widianto of Indonesia, back, returns a shot against Ko Sung-hyun and Ha Jung-eun of South Korea during the first round match of the Malaysia Open Badminton Super Series in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)

Indonesians’ Super Series Slump Continues in KL

After giving the national players a long rest, Indonesian badminton officials were probably hoping for a better start to this year’s Super Series. They certainly didn’t expect to see the shuttlers come out flat in Kuala Lumpur.

Three national bets bowed out of the Malaysia Super Series on Wednesday, as the struggles of last season seem to have followed the players into the new campaign.

Linda Weni Fanetri, the country’s lone entry in women’s singles, lost to Malaysia’s Wong Mew Choo 22-20, 21-14, in the first round at Putra Stadium.

In mixed doubles, Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto fell 21-9, 21-15 to Flandy Limpele and Chen Wen-hsing.

Indonesia’s misery extended to the senior level.

Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir lost 21-15, 21-17 to Ko Sung-hyun and Ha Jung-eun of South Korea. Nova and Lilyana, the former mixed doubles world No. 1, were seeded second in Malaysia.

“I thought the Koreans didn’t play that well,” Nova said in a text message to the Jakarta Globe.

“It was just that we weren’t focused enough in the match. What’s worse was Lilyana was not really physically fit to play.”

Anneke Feinya Agustine and Annissa Wahyuni did manage to buck the trend in women’s doubles, as the world No. 34 pair pulled off a 21-11, 21-13 victory over unseeded Malaysians Sonia Su Ya Cheah and Li Lian Yang.

Anneke and Annissa will face Chou Chia-chi and Yang Chia-chen of Taiwan in the second round. Chou and Yang beat the eighth-seeded Thai pair in two sets to advance.

After a forgettable 2009 season, badminton officials decided to give the national shuttlers more time for rest to keep them fresh for the grueling Super Series schedule this year, even skipping the South Korea leg in preparation for Malaysia.

On Wednesday, national team head coach Christian Hadinata defended his players’ performance, saying they were up against formidable opponents.

“They were drawn against more senior players, and that was in the first round. I think that was hard,” Christian said. “Linda, for example, she played well even though she had to go through qualifying.

“[Games like those] will be good for their development, because they will give them experience. They just need to improve their skills and endurance in the next tournaments.”

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