Indonesian women's singles skip Asian championships for Uber Cup

JAKARTA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) has decided to axe women's singles players from the squad for the Asian Championships in Malaysia to allow them to better prepare for the Uber Cup.

"Women's single players will not go to the Asian Championships because we focus on the Uber Cup," coach Marleve Mainaky was quoted by the national Antara news agency as saying.

Indonesia will host the women's group tournament as well as men's group Thomas Cup in May.

Adriyanti Firdasari and Fransisca Ratnasari were previously registered among players in the Asian Championships but their names have been removed by the organizers following the withdrawal.

"If they compete in the Asian Championships, they will have little time to prepare, just two weeks," said Marleve.

Fransisca is tipped to become the fourth singles player in the Uber Cup squad, along with Maria Kristin, Firdasari and Pia Zebadiah.

Indonesia has won three Uber Cup titles, the last happened in 1996.

Only four countries have won the competition since the biennial event was first held in 1956. The three others are China (10), Japan (3) and the United States (3).