According to the player yesterday who played charity match football in sasana budaya ganesha bandung. Pbsi will send 15/16 players to Korea and HK open. I am not so sure about Ms, Ws, Wd. Md indonesia will send Flandy/Sigit, Kido/Jangkis, Luluk/Alvent, Hendra AG/Joko. for Xd Kedeng/Butet and maybe anggun/momon. For Ms maybe Taufik, Sony(if he Getting better), Simon. For Wd maybe Jo/gress.
Great news. We'll be assured of some real battles in men's doubles regardless of who else comes, then. With those top Indonesian pairs and, of course, Korea's pairs. Denmark usually sends a contingent to Korea, too. We haven't had an all-Korean final since 2002 and 2003. Both of those were identical in outcome to the 2004 Olympics (not to mention the '99 worlds).
Looks like Hendra/Joko have been promoted to the senior squad now with participation in the 6* rated events. Kido/Hendra need to do well in BOTH tournaments in order to earn a good seeding (probably 9/16) at the WC. A quarter-final placing is a minimum! Luluk/Alvent also need to improve in order to be among the top 4 seeds at the WC. For Nova/Butet, as long as they maintain a semi-final placing in both tourneys, the top seed at the WC is not a problem for them! Depending on the potential entrants, another title or two is a possibility as well to add to the 3 titles they have won this year. For WD, Jo/Greysia also should at least enter the quarter-final in one of the tourney to be seeded 5/8 at the WC. For MS, I am not expecting a lot...since a title at the WC is almost an impossible task for either Taufik or Sony.
An article from Jawapos on Indonesian squad in Korea Open ..here's the link from Jawapos, for those who understand Indonesian : http://jawapos.com/index.php?act=detail_c&id=242615 - Basically in the article, it mentions abt the current state of preparedness and goal of the Indonesian squad in the upcoming Korea Open. It mentions that these next 2 tournaments will be a place for them to prepare and improve for the upcoming World Championship. - It also mentions abt Taufik and because of his current IBF ranking(which is #18), how he will meet all the top ranked players earlier on. And add to that, with Taufik's current ranking, LinDan, Kenneth, Boonsak will surely be eyeing to defeat him. But coach Christian Hadinata deflected the notion that ranking alone can be used as a measuring gauge for how a player will perform. He said, "not all players can fully perform in all of the tournaments", as he mentioned abt Taufik's results in the Olympics and World Championship even with a lower ranking. He said "There are certain moments and tournaments which a player can choose to participate and will bring his/her best and shine. However, he added "that player WILL HAVE to play all out & bring his/her best game & must win". - It also mentions abt Nova Widianto's mental approach to the upcoming Korea & HK Opens. He said basically "Becoming a champion is nice, but he'll be satisfied if he can reach the Semifinal Round. Because the more success he bears, the better chances there will be in the WC." He also added, according to him, the main or toughest pair out there in the Korea Open is Nathan Robertson & Gail Emms. "Eventhough they are ranked #5 in the world, they're the pair which we feared the most". - It also mentions abt the new XD pairing of Flandy Limpele and Lita Nurlita and their first match which will be today in the Qualifying Rd. If they are able to qualify for the Main Rd., they will play against the top Korean XD pair in LeeJJ and LeeHJ. Basically Flandy/Lita are being paired for the first time because they have shown good results in practices. Add to that coach Christian is pairing them up to find a "backup/2nd unit" pair to Pelatnas' 1st XD pair, Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir. Both Flandy and Lita are also playing doubles:Flandy with Sigit B in MD while Lita with Nathalia Poluakan in WD.
Unlike badMania, I wouldn't discount Taufik altogether! He has proven in the past that he can spring many a surprise! I think Taufik likes it better meeting and defeating all the top guns along the way to the top! I'm sure Indra, Kemana and Taufikist are on my side.
To badMania & hcyong: Regarding our recent exchanges on how organizers normally classify the various rounds from "Qualifying" to the "Finals", I can't help noting how the current Korea Open website does it, which I'm reproducing below: MS Qualifying; R of 64 ;R of 32; R of 16 ;QF SF Final WS - R of 64; R of 32; R of 16 ;QF SF Final MD Qualifying; R of 32; R of 16 ;Q-finals Semi-F Final WD Qualifying; R of 32; R of 16 ;Q-finals Semi-F Final XD Qualifying R of 32 R of 16 Q-finals Semi-F Final As you can see, they use the description "R of 64" to "R of 16" (Not R64 or R16). This is not to be confused with Round 1, Round 2 or Round 3 for the preliminary rounds used by some other organizers but which means the same as Round of 64, Round of 32 and Round of 16 as used by the Koreans.
I will still put my money on Simon to become a champion in KO. That will be a good news for Indonesia. That means we have another man to depend on beside Taufik. Sony is a good player, but I think his injury really bothers him. Beside, Simon looks really sharp in this tournament. Hope it continues well. It will be nice to get an all Indonesian final in MS for KO and possible the MD as well (Kdo/Setiawan and Tony/Candra). I'm hoping for our young guns to make an impact such as Rizal/Polii and Novita/Polii. It is about time for us to start advancing especially in the quest for Sudirman, Thomas and Uber cup in the long run.
It will be nice to have an all-Indonesian MD Final, but unfortunately the latest both pairs(TG/CW vs. MK/HS) can meet is in the Semifinal(all four of them are in the bottom half of the draw). And even if they meet there, the senior pair will most likely take it and go to the Final, just like deja vu all over again like in the recent Indonesia Open.
Kido/Setiawan have done a good job defeating Paaske/Rasmussen. Next is the Korean pair for them. This will be tough, but I'm sure they will show the famous Indonesian spirit to win the game. Personally, I think they are a better pair than Luluk/Alvent. They have the same type of ferocity as Ricky/Rexy. The only thing they lack is that they tend to get over aggressive and make unforced error. Candra/Tony should be able to kick Koo/Chan 's ass. It will be an exciting All Indonesians semifinal if that happen. Can't wait to see what strategy Kido/Setiawan will use to defeat their senior should they meet in the semifinal.
I agree with the statement i've highlighted in bold..They need to calm down and relax..The KOR pair will be tough though, as Jung/Lee have been performing quite well recently (ie. Macau and Thai Open).. If they all meet again, Kido/Setiawan could have a different strategy, but if they want to beat Candra and esp. Tony, they have to play a consistent & almost error-free game(when they lost @ the recent Indonesian Open, Kido/Setiawan committed so many errors, probably from being in awe of playing their great senior counterparts, which lead to their downfall)..
