High Appreciation for the Indonesian Srikandi Team in the 2024 Uber Cup

The 2024 Uber Cup "runner-up" position is capital for the women's team's revival in the next world badminton tournament.

HUMAS PP PBSI

The Indonesian Uber Cup team posed after the Uber Cup final match at the Chengdu Hi Tech Zone Sports Centre Gymnasium in China on Sunday (5/5/2024). China once again became the champion of the 2024 Uber Cup after defeating Indonesia, 3-0, in the final round.

The Indonesian women's badminton team which qualified for the 2024 Uber Cup final made new history for this nation. Moreover, the Indonesian women's team is strengthened by a number of young players with little experience. Despite losing to China, the position as runner-up in the 2024 Uber Cup is capital for the women's team's revival in future badminton tournaments, including the Olympics.

The issue of air pollution is not a new one. The situation where the community is threatened by air pollution has been going on for a long time. Research findings showing the threats of air pollution's impacts are also abundant. However, these have not been able to push for significant efforts in controlling air pollution. As a result, residents are increasingly suffering amid air pollution. The victory of Komang Ayu in the decisive match between the Indonesian women's team and South Korea on Saturday (4/5/2024) paves the way for her team to reach the final round. This achievement is a historic moment for the Indonesian women's team who last advanced to the final round of the Uber Cup championship in 2008. Furthermore, this success is worth appreciating because the Indonesian badminton team exceeded the target set by PBSI, which was only to reach the semifinals.

Therefore, the success of the Indonesian women's team reaching the final is already a remarkable achievement. Even though they eventually lost to the host team China in the final round, the success was unexpected. The Indonesian women's team was even referred to as the "dark horse" in this year's Uber Cup competition.

There are several reasons underlying the prediction. Firstly, on paper, the ranking of Indonesian female athletes who are included in the 2024 Uber Cup team is still far from the top ten best in the world. Among the 11 players on the Indonesian 2024 Uber Cup team list, only Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Apriyani Rahayu, and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti are among the top ten best women's badminton players in the world, according to the BWF Ranking. Gregoria is ranked 9th in women's singles, while Apriyani and Siti Fadia are ranked equally in the women's doubles category.

Meanwhile, the other eight athletes are ranked below 20th place. For example, women's singles player Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo is ranked 38th and Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi is in 56th position. Then the women's doubles pair of Lanny Tria and Ribka Sugiarto remain in the 27th position in the world. Below them, there are the duo Meilysa Trias and Rachel Allessya Rose who are ranked 34th in the world for women's doubles.

Also read: Praise for the Indonesian Uber Cup Team

The ranking position is an accumulation of each badminton athlete's achievement, also indicating the length of their international experience. The longer the athlete competes on the international stage, the more matches they play. This will have an impact on the number of wins and losses counted to determine world rankings. Similarly, a lower ranking position could be due to a lack of victories collected because the number of matches played is not yet too many.

In addition, the low world ranking of several Indonesian women's badminton players is also due to their limited experience in the senior international class. In addition to Gregoria, Apriyani, and Siti Fadia, the average age of Indonesian female athletes is 20 years old. Some of them are still competing in the 2022 and 2023 junior world championships. In the senior international professional class, they are still considered very novice.

In the Uber Cup championship, they are still considered as new players. Some of them, such as Meilysa Trias, Rachel Allessya, and Ruzana, just joined the Indonesian Uber Cup women's team this year. Meanwhile, the more senior players, on average, have only participated in two Uber Cup matches, including this year's.

Against the dominance of the Chinese women's team

With these performance and experience statistics, the Uber Cup final is not the main target for the Indonesian women's team. Even though it does not rule out the opportunity to reach the final, this relatively not "too high" target is more realistic while making this event a source of experience for the future of Indonesian women's badminton. Moreover, the Uber Cup championship is determined based on team wins. This means that winning each match number will add points to the team so that each individual's performance is decisive for the team.

It is a burden for every athlete who competes. They not only carry their own name, but also hold the key to the continuity of the game for their team. With such a situation, mental readiness is equally important as the skills and physical strength of every athlete, thus requiring support from the experience of previous team championships. Therefore, the Uber Cup championship becomes something challenging and at the same time a heavy burden for every team member, especially for those who have just joined.

The defeat suffered by the Indonesian women's team in the final match against China is not something to be regretted. In fact, in that moment, our female badminton athletes gained experience in facing the world's badminton queens directly.

Also read: Uber Indonesia vs China Final: Ester Loses, China Wins Uber Cup

HUMAS PP PBSI

Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo fought against He Bing Jiao (China) in the third match of the Uber Cup final at the Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre Gymnasium, China, on Sunday (5/5/2024). Jiao won with a score of 10-21, 21-15, 21-17.

So far, China has dominated in achievements in the women's singles and doubles categories. All athletes who are part of China's women's team in the 2024 Uber Cup are included in the top 10 world rankings. In fact, some of them are in the top five in the world. In women's singles, for example, Chen Yu Fei is ranked second in the world. In the women's doubles, there is the pair of Chen Qin Chen-Jia Yi Fan in first place globally, Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning in third place, and Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu in fifth place.

From experience, the athletes from the "Land of the Bamboo Curtain" have more flight hours. Only the women's doubles Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning are competing for the first time in the Uber Cup. The rest have represented their country at least twice in the Uber Cup championships. In terms of age, Chinese female athletes are more senior. The average age of Chinese badminton players is 24.6 years old, while Indonesia's is 21.4 years old.

It's a long journey to the 2024 Uber Cup final

The comparison shows that on paper, the Chinese women's team is far superior to the Indonesian women's team. The loss suffered by the Indonesian women's team can be understood under such circumstances. The win-loss of the Indonesian women's team in the 2024 Uber Cup final is not the main focus. Achieving the final is actually more important than the result of the final match. Because, this team has faced the four best teams that have competed in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 Uber Cups, namely China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

In the group phase, Indonesia became the runner-up of group C behind Japan's victory. In Group C, the Indonesian women's team has played several matches against Japan, Hong Kong and Uganda. Despite losing to Japan, the Indonesian women's team still advanced to the next round after winning second place in Group C.

The most intense match in this group stage was when facing Japan, one of the strongest countries in the world of badminton. Indonesia had to field almost all of its athletes in five matches, which ended in a 2-3 defeat for Japan's advantage.

Also read: Indonesia Cancels Match between Thomas and Uber Cup Champions

GALIH PRADIPTA

Indonesian women's doubles badminton players, Rachel Allessya Rose (right) and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, try to return the shuttlecock towards their opponents, Japanese women's doubles badminton players Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto, in the qualifying round of the 2024 Uber Cup group at Chengdu Hi Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium, Chengdu, China, on Wednesday (1/5/2024).

In the quarterfinals, the Indonesian women's team also had to face neighboring country Thailand who is also formidable in badminton. Thailand eventually lost 3-0 to Indonesia, sending Indonesia to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the women's team had to face South Korea, which is also classified as strong in the global badminton competition scene. With maximum effort, the Indonesian women's team defeated the "Land of Ginseng" team with a score of 3-2, ultimately advancing to the final round.

The long journey of the Indonesian women's team reaching the Piala Uber 2024 final is a valuable experience for the competing athletes, especially for those who are just starting their careers on the international professional stage. The heavier burden and intense competition against dominant countries can train their physical, mental, and skills readiness to face the next match. Moreover, there are still many championships waiting for their performances in the future. For the seniors, such as Gregoria, Apriyani, and Siti Fadia, this opportunity is a chance to cultivate self-confidence ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics in a few months. Therefore, keep the spirits up, and congratulations to the Indonesian women's team! (LITBANG KOMPAS)