Gang of four will return to make Indonesia even stronger

Sunday, May 29, 2011 - Badmintonphoto

Indonesia strongly believe the absence of four former world champions from their Sudirman Cup squad will turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Taufik Hidayat (picture), Liliyana Natsir, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan all missed the 2011 Double Star BWF Sudirman Cup World Mixed Team Championships in Qingdao, but Indonesia still reached Saturday’s semi-final where they were beaten 3-1 by Denmark – only their third loss to the Europeans in 10 Sudirman Cup meetings.

Coach Christian Hadinata said: “We came with a very young squad as some of our top stars are injured.

“I think the younger players in the team have benefited playing in this high quality competition as they were able to witness first hand some of the best players in the world.

“We had no set targets before coming to China. We wanted to do the best we could and we are delighted to have maintained Indonesia’s record of reaching the semi-finals of all 12 Sudirman Cup competitions.”

On the future of Taufik, Liliyana, Markis and Hendra, Christian said he is confident they would return to the national team for future team events.

“There is no reason for them not to return to the national team. I’m confident they will be back once their injuries heal,” said Hadinata

Indonesia, who were the inaugural winners of the competition in 1989, have not reached the final of the Sudirman Cup since a 3-0 loss to China in 2007.

 

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