"We will send 10 badminton players, as announced by the World Badminton Federation (BWF), who have been declared as having qualified for the Rio Olympic Games," PBSI general chairman Gita Wirjawan said at a press conference here on Monday.
The ten badminton players include Tommy Sugiarto, who will play in the mens single event; Linda Wenifanetri for the womens singles; Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan in the mens double event; Greysia Polii/Nitya Krishinda Maheswati in the womens double; and Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir and Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto in the mixed doubles event.
The PBSI decided to name Linda to represent Indonesia in the Olympic Games in view of her record in matches against 10 world ranking players.
"Linda is ranked 15th out of 16 who qualified as per the BWF. So, Linda stands clear to play in the Olympic Games," PBSIs head of development affairs, Rexy Mainaky, said.
The PBSI has analyzed records of matches of Linda and Maria Febe Kusumastuti against 10 of the worlds best players.
In the list of world rankings announced by the BWF in the first week of May, Linda was ranked 22nd in the world in the womens single event. She was also ranked 15th among athletes who passed the qualification for the Olympic Games, collecting a total of 41,270 points.
Maria Febe was ranked 24th in the world with a total of 40,091 points.
Indonesia has set a target of winning two gold medals on these games, most likely in the mixed and mens double events, though there are chances that the mens and womens double events could also yield a gold haul. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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