Saudi Arabia badminton duo out to learn from defeats at Asian Games

Rana Abu Harbesh during her defeat to Hong Kong’s Ngan Yi Cheung. (Asian Games)

• Shatha Al-Mutairi enjoyed the experience in Indonesia and has sights set on playing in more top-level tournaments.
• Coach Mohammed Awad Ammar looking toward the Tokyo Olympics.

JAKARTA: Saudi Arabia’s two female badminton players left the court yesterday defeated but not dispirited, insisting they will learn from their Asian Games defeats and return better players in time for Tokyo 2020 qualification.
Rana Abu Harbesh, 22, and Shatha Al-Mutairi, 23, both lost in straight sets against considerably more experienced opponents at Gelora Bung Karno. However, given this was a debut appearance at the continental competition for both, the results were not unexpected. The hope now is the two defeats act as the first step of a steep learning curve.
“It’s been good,” said Al-Mutairi, smiling despite falling 21-4, 21-4 to Sri Lanka’s Kavidi Sirimannage inside just 14 minutes.
“It’s my first time playing at the Asian Games, so I was nervous, but it’s OK. I am very happy and hopefully in the future I can play much better than I played here. I will gain lots of experience from this.”
Al-Mutairi was in tears earlier in the day after watching Hong Kong’s Ngan Yi Cheung defeat her friend and compatriot Abu Harbesh 21-1, 21-5. At times, the two Saudi Arabia representatives looked out of their depth, making a series of unforced errors, but their coach said that was to be expected. 
“It’s important we come here and try,” coach Mohammed Awad Ammar told Arab News. “(Abu Harbesh) is upset now of course, but for the future, this will give her good experience. We will go back, prepare more and in the future, inshallah, the Saudis can fight to be among the best.”
While men’s badminton has been in development for the past four years, a program for the women’s game only launched in the past 12 months. Already there are eight women on the national team, yet as there are no national rankings for females — the country does not yet hold women’s singles events — Abu Harbesh and Al-Mutairi were hand-selected.
“Women’s badminton is a fairly new sport in Saudi Arabia, so we focus only on the level of performance and dismiss the scores,” said Ammar. “It’s good for them to come and play in this big event. We know the levels of the top countries and we will be able to better prepare for the next tournaments by using the experience of this one. The goal is to try to reach Tokyo 2020.”
Al-Mutairi said that while preparations for this month’s games started four months ago, she has recently noticed an increase in interest in the sport. This afternoon, she will compete alongside Abu Harbesh in the doubles tournament against South Korean pair Sohee Lee and Seungchan Shin. 
“There are games for women in Saudi Arabia now and it’s good that we can enjoy these,” she said.
“Now I have many friends who play badminton, so it’s definitely growing and I hope in the future that that can continue. As for the doubles, I am excited because it’s always more fun, especially playing with a friend and representing your country together.” 
Meanwhile Cheung, Abu Harbesh’s tormentor, will face world 
No. 1 Tzuying Tai of Taipei in the Round of 16. She said her Saudi opponent should continue on her chosen path.
“I think it’s about experience. If you train hard and prepare, then when your chance comes you will feel more confident. As you gain more experience, you will improve,” she said. “So my advice to her would simply be: Never give up.”