All England badminton championship: prestigious but not so at home<\/p>\n
Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post, Birmingham, England<\/p>\n
The All England badminton championship is back in the city of
\nBirmingham this week, and yet it hardly seems to be causing a
\nripple in the city.<\/p>\n
There is no media fanfare, and few overt signs that the
\ntournament is being staged, except at the tournament's venue, the
\nNational Indoor Arena (NIA), and a few tourist information
\ncenters.<\/p>\n
It's also hard to find people in the street who know what the
\nAll England is all about. Some people questioned by The Jakarta
\nPost on the roads leading to the NIA said they knew nothing about
\nthe tournament.<\/p>\n
The All England is not so alien, though, to those Britons who
\nhave connections with Asia, and Indonesia in particular.<\/p>\n
Nick Devas, a lecturer at the University of Birmingham who
\nlived in Indonesia for several years, said earlier this week that
\nhe was aware the tournament was being staged but had not had the
\nchance to visit yet.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Jonathan Roberts, who teaches gamelan at the
\nUniversity of Central England, which is located quite close to
\nthe NIA, has not yet visited the tournament, but said he would
\nlike to do so in the future.<\/p>\n
The All England, and badminton in general, does not appeal to
\nBritish people because the sport has been dominated by Asian
\nplayers for so long, says Suryawan Murtiadi, a Phd student and a
\nbadminton trainer at a university in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
\"Unless you have an English player winning this tournament,
\nthe BBC will not bother covering the event,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, in the nature of the chicken and the egg conundrum,
\nit is open to debate as to whether the British are not interested
\nbecause the sport is dominated by Asians, or rather whether the
\nsport is dominated by Asians because the British, and most
\nEuropeans in general, are not interested.<\/p>\n
Whatever the case, the All England is one of the oldest
\nsporting tournaments in England, and dates back to its inception
\nin 1899, just 22 years after the founding of the other All-
\nEngland championships, i.e. the lawn tennis championships that
\nlater became well-known as Wimbledon.<\/p>\n
English players dominated the badminton All England until the
\nlate 1930s, when players from other countries started to compete.
\nIn the 1940s, the crown for the most prestigious title, i.e. the
\nmen's singles, started to be claimed by players from outside
\nEngland, namely Denmark, India and United States.<\/p>\n
In the second half of the 20th century, the tournament came to
\nbe dominated by three Asian giants (China, Indonesia and
\nMalaysia) and Denmark. Since the start of this century, the All
\nEngland has belonged to China, something that may well be
\nrepeated this year.<\/p>\n
Some have also speculated that the decline in the popularity
\nof the All England in England itself is partly due to the change
\nin the tournament's venue from the Wembley Arena in London to the
\nNIA in Birmingham in 1994.<\/p>\n
For years, Wembley was synonymous with the All England
\nbadminton championships, just like Wimbledon still is with the
\nAll England tennis championships. Wembley hosted the All England
\nfrom 1957 through 1993. Although the All England has changed
\nvenues several times, Wembley is still special for many players.<\/p>\n
\"At Wembley, you get a feeling that is at the same time both
\nmagical and creepy,\" former Indonesian top shuttler Joko
\nSupriyanto said on Tuesday at the NIA. Joko reached the men's
\nsingles finals twice at Wembley, in 1990 and 1993, but lost to
\nZhao Jianhua of China and his fellow Indonesian Heryanto Arbi
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's team manager Christian Hadinata, who won the men's
\ndoubles twice and reached the finals four times at Wembley in the
\n1970s, said Wembley was a legend but it was an old building. Most
\nsignificantly, Wembley was getting more expensive. Therefore, it
\nwas time to move on.<\/p>\n
For many Asians living in England, the All England remains
\npopular whether held at Wembley or the NIA. Students from
\nMalaysia, China and Indonesia in Birmingham have all encouraged
\ntheir countrymen from outside Birmingham to travel to the venue
\nto support their Badminton heroes.<\/p>",
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