Clubs on the hunt for former national players<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Namrih Suroto knows what it means to be sidelined, and the
\ngnawing feeling of \"what if?\"<\/p>\n
Once a promising prospect on the national badminton scene,
\ntoday he sits in the stands of Amongrogo sports hall, making
\ncalls on his mobile phone or cheering on his friends.<\/p>\n
He formerly played for prestigious Jaya Raya club, competing
\nwith the big names of the sport; today he is thankful to be
\nplaying for a club from Papua, a badminton backwater.<\/p>\n
As the 30-year-old veteran looks on during the National Mixed
\nTeam Championship, two of his former partners, Candra Wijaya and
\nSigit Budiarto, are competing together in the Korea Open.<\/p>\n
Namrih was recruited to the National Badminton Training Center
\nin Cipayung, East Jakarta, in 1993, a year after he teamed with
\nSigit to become the world junior champions.<\/p>\n
\"With Candra (Wijaya), I also won the national championship in
\nMedan the same year. With Tony (Gunawan), I don't know. I can't
\nremember anymore how many times I won the tournaments. Tony used
\nto be my regular partner,\" Namrih told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
It was intensely competitive at Cipayung among the men's
\ndoubles teams, each of them competing to be the second pairing
\nbehind Ricky Subagdja and Rexy Mainaky.<\/p>\n
He also suffered a knee injury which took six months to heal.
\nIn 1995, bypassed by other players, he was let go, moving on to
\ntake positions over the next few years as either player or
\ntrainer in Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Namrih was set to play for Pemda Jayapura of Papua but he was
\ndeemed ineligible, and the team lost three of its four matches.<\/p>\n
For Namrih and others who failed to make the top ranks at
\nCipayung, playing at the club level provides another opportunity
\nto extend their careers.<\/p>\n
Mutiara Bandung already has several former national players,
\nincluding 2002 All England singles finalist Budi Santoso.
\nHowever, its recruitment of another Cipayung veteran, Enroe, hit
\na snag when he was deemed to have failed to have registered his
\nclub transfer with the badminton authorities.<\/p>\n
Sinema Sukabumi, founded in 2003, has signed up doubles
\nspecialist Davis Efraim to play alongside twin brothers Donny
\nPrasetyo and Denny Setiawan, both of whom played for Singapore
\nfor three years before returning home last year.<\/p>\n
Sinema defeated the rest of the teams to top Group D.<\/p>\n
Retno Kustiyah, the head of the player ratifying team (TIM
\nKEABSAHAN) with the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI),
\nsaid violations were occurring amid the head-hunting for former
\ntop players.<\/p>\n
She estimated about 20 former Cipayung members were now
\nplaying at the club level.<\/p>\n
\"But a player's switch to another club should be accompanied
\nby a letter that mentions that the player has quit their former
\nclub,\" said the executive of Jaya Raya.<\/p>\n
Damsik Syamsul Bahri, the owner of Sinema, said the players'
\npresence was expected to motivate young players.<\/p>\n
But some clubs still choose to pick up-and-comers from their
\nown area instead of veterans.<\/p>\n
\"We are not interested in well-established players. It will
\nget in the way of our own groomed players,\" said Yuli Netra from
\nHard Rock Hotel Team of Bali.<\/p>\n
\"As a small club, we don't expect too much from the players.
\nBut it's important to give them tournament experience.\"<\/p>\n
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/clubs-on-the-hunt-for-former-national-players-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }