Jakarta: The Badminton Association of Indonesia or PBSI has confirmed that the organization will make some changes to the Indonesian badminton team in 2018, one of them is to split up World No. 6 mixed doubles pair Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto.
The Head of Development and Achievement of PBSI, Susi Susanti, who won the gold medal in the woman’s singles at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, revealed the reason behind the split for Praveen/Debby.
“Praveen/Debby need a reset. One of the main decision behind this change was they’ve entered 3 finals this year (Swiss Open, Australian Open, and Korea Open), and only able to win the Korea Open,” said Susi.
“Their performance has become stagnant and was not satisfactory at the last tournament. We should not rely too heavily on Tontowi/Liliyana, we need to find another mixed doubles pair to share the burden,” added Susi.
According to the new set up, Praveen will be paired with Melati Daeva Oktavianti, while Debby with Ricky Karanda Suwardi. Susi Susanti hoped that both Praveen/Debby can feel more motivated with the new partners.
Meanwhile, Susi Susanti also told reporters that the Rio Olympic gold medalists Tontowi/Liliyana have tried their best in the 2017 BWF Super Series Final tournament.
“The results in Dubai may indeed the best outcome for Tontowi/Liliyana, given the age of Tontowi/Liliyana. Based on their track record, I am expecting them to play well in several tournaments next year,” said Susi.
“Currently, we are looking for other mixed doubles to step up, and we cannot wait anymore, because we cannot continue to rely on Tontowi/Liliyana.”
