Ami Afriatni

Nova Widianto, right, and Liliyana Natsir were one of the few bright spots for Indonesia in 2009. (EPA Photo)

Indonesia’s Shuttlers Close Book on a Season of Chagrin

For all intents and purposes, 2009 is a year most Indonesian shuttlers would rather forget.

Of the 60 titles up for grabs during the 12-leg Super Series schedule and the Masters Finals, Indonesia’s best players managed just five. That was a 50 percent drop from their showing in 2008.

Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan won men’s doubles titles in Japan and France, while mixed doubles pair Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir finished on top in Malaysia and France. The country’s other championship came from Simon Santoso, who won the men’s singles title at the Denmark Open.

Indonesia’s fortunes outside the Super Series were not much better. The national team bowed out of the Sudirman Cup in the semifinals, falling 3-1 to Korea, and the best it could muster at the World Championship in August was a runner-up showing from Nova and Liliyana.

With all of the top national-team shuttlers in the squad, Indonesia came away from the Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos with four gold medals — three fewer than in 2007.

National team coach Christian Hadinata blamed the poor results on older players slowing down and younger ones failing to step up.

“The seniors are getting older and they’re stagnant, while our younger ones aren’t ready yet, especially in the women’s divisions,” he said.

Indonesia’s women endured a particularly barren year. They went without a singles or doubles championship at the top level, failed to win gold at the SEA Games and finished the year without a singles shuttler in the world top 10.

“All the young players still need more time and international experience to boost their skills. We’ll sit down to lay out plans so they’ll keep progressing to be the best,” Christian said.

Even the national team camp in Cipayung, East Jakarta, is experiencing a decline. Several top shuttlers, including Taufik Hidayat, resigned from the national team in January to start playing professionally.

Hendra Aprida Gunawan, who quit the camp to play men’s doubles professionally with Alvent Yulianto Chandra, said moving out allowed them to determine their own path.

“I became more self-sufficient outside the camp,” Hendra said. “I have to take care of everything by myself. It makes me a more responsible athlete, both to myself and sponsors.”

Hendra and Alvent played consistently and ended the year fifth in the world, though their best showing was second place at the Malaysia Super Series. Taufik, the world No. 3, is Indonesia’s highest ranked men’s singles shuttler.

Markis and Henra have also requested a release from the national team, citing complaints over how the Indonesian Badminton Association dealt with Markis’s high blood pressure as the main reason.

Indonesia faces three tournaments for 2010. Kuala Lumpur will host the Thomas and Uber Cups on May 9-16, and the 2010 Asian Games take place Nov. 12-27 in Guangzhou, China. Indonesia’s men last won the Thomas Cup in 2002, with the women last claiming the Uber Cup in 1996.

Taufik produced the only gold at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

“We’ll send [shuttlers] to more international tournaments besides the Super Series, such as the Gold Grand Prix, Grand Prix, and even international challenge tournaments,” Christian said. “That will become our highest priority.”

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