Jakarta: The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has officially announced shuttlers competing for the Thomas & Uber Cup squads on Monday, and World No. 1 men’s doubles player – Marcus Fernaldi Gideon will not be playing at the prestigious men’s team event as he still recovering from a surgery that took place last week to remove the small bones that grew in both of his right and left ankles.
The 2022 Thomas and Uber Cup finals will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from May 8 to May 15, 2022.
PBSI’s Head of Development and Achievement, Rionny Mainaky said that the Indonesian team needed to make several changes on both the Thomas and Uber Cup teams due to the fact that there were players who still recovering from injuries and there were also players who were sent to the 2021 SEA Games. Nevertheless, PBSI still aimed at defending the title they won at the 2020 Thomas Cup Finals.
“For the Thomas Cup team, there are indeed slight changes compared to last year. Leo/Daniel and Chico will be focused on the SEA Games and Marcus is still recovering from his ankle surgery. So we’ve decided to send Bagas/Fikri and Syabda in the men’s doubles. We also included Tegar in the men’s singles,” said Mainaky.
“Even so, our Thomas Cup is still pretty strong and I believe we can defend the title,” continued Mainaky.
Meanwhile, PBSI only retained Nita Violina Marwah and Jesita Putri Miantoro from its 2020 Uber Cup team, the rest of the Uber Cup players are young first-timers.
“We are sending mostly young players to the Uber Cup finals. This would be a good opportunity to test their skills,” said Rionny.
“I think they can get through the group stage without problem, and I hope they can go to the semifinals and create a surprise. My hope is that all of them can play optimally, both the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup teams,” added Mainaky.
Here’s Indonesia’s roster for the 2022 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals:
Thomas Cup:
1. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting
2. Jonatan Christie
3. Shesar Hiren Rhustavito
4. Syabda Perkasa Belawa
5. Tegar Sulistio
6. Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo
7. Mohammad Ahsan
8. Hendra Setiawan
9. Fajar Alfian
10. Muhammad Rian Ardianto
11. Bagas Maulana
12. Muhammad Shohibul Fikri
Uber Cup:
1. Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi
2. Aisyah Sativa Fatetani
3. Bilqis Prasista
4. Tasya Farahnailah
5. Siti Sarah Azzahra
6. Nita Violina Marwah
7. Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma
8. Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi
9. Jesita Putri Miantoro
10. Lanny Tria Mayasari
11. Tryola Nadia
12. Melani Mamahit
