Happy badminton finale for Minarti<\/p>\n
Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The most beautiful moment for an athlete is when he or she wins a
\ntournament, especially before a home crowd at the end of his or
\nher career.<\/p>\n
American tennis ace Pete Sampras did it, hinting last Sunday
\nthat he might retire, and so did Indonesian badminton mixed
\ndoubles specialist Minarti Timur.<\/p>\n
Grabbing her sixth Indonesia Open at the age of 34, and
\npartnered with Bambang Suprianto, Minarti gave a farewell speech
\nto the crowd in Surabaya, her hometown, on Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
\"I felt so relieved when I said goodbye to badminton lovers.
\nMoreover, I could win a big tournament even without proper
\npreparation. I finally finished what I had started as a shuttler.
\nBesides, I'm also glad that my juniors Emma (Ermawati) and Vita
\n(Marissa) began to show their skill as good players. I don't have
\nto worry, they just need to concentrate on their training.\"<\/p>\n
Apart from her happiness, Minarti said that sometimes late at
\nnight she still remembered her good old days.<\/p>\n
\"It's the excitement of playing that I miss a lot,\" she said
\nafter a training session last Wednesday at the Indonesian
\nBadminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Although she has retired, Minarti is joining the training out
\nof her dedication to help the Badminton Association of Indonesia
\n(PBSI) to prepare her compatriots for the 2002 Busan Asian Games
\nnext month and to gear the juniors up for three European Grand
\nPrix series in the Denmark Open, the Dutch Open and the German
\nOpen.<\/p>\n
\"I really want to take a break. It's been so exhausting. But
\ncoach Richard (Mainaky) asked me to help him.\"<\/p>\n
Minarti was expelled from the Asian Games squad prior to the
\nIndonesia Open due to her \"inability to perform\". Without another
\nmajor event as a target, she considered retirement as a better
\nchoice.<\/p>\n
In her 16-year career, Minarti has grabbed the 2000 Olympics
\nmixed doubles silver medal, the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games bronze
\nin the mixed doubles and women's team, the 1990 Beijing Asian
\nGames silver in the women's team, the 1997 Lausanne World
\nChampionships bronze in mixed doubles, the 1995 Chiang Mai SEA
\nGames gold and the 1997 All England runner-up, not to mention
\nother Grand Prix series titles.<\/p>\n
She claimed she was satisfied with her achievements so far.<\/p>\n
\"I may have never won in major tournaments but it's more
\nimportant for me to show my fighting spirit during each match. If
\nI feel dissatisfied with all these results, when will I retire?<\/p>\n
\"Besides, ending my career with a victory is a beautiful
\nfarewell gift. Perhaps that's the way it should be.<\/p>\n
\"If I force myself to keep playing and the results are bad,
\npeople will condemn me for not realizing my ability and age,\"
\nsaid the player, who said she wants to coach as she would fail in
\nthe business world.<\/p>\n
Sporting a pair of black shorts and a red polo shirt, Minarti
\nthought hard if there were other shuttlers who were of the same
\nage as her.<\/p>\n
\"Fung Permadi (an Indonesian who plays for Taiwan)! He's a
\nyear older than me and he was still playing at the Singapore Open
\nlast month. I met him, but he said he also planned to retire.\"<\/p>\n
\"There are no more players at my age now,\" she sighed,
\n\"everybody is much younger.\"<\/p>\n
Having retired hasn't made Minarti ignore the problems inside
\nPBSI and the center.<\/p>\n
\"I'm very concerned to see that the women's singles and
\ndoubles are totally underestimated in their abilities. They don't
\nget the same chances as the men's singles, doubles and mixed
\ndoubles to compete in international tournaments.<\/p>\n
\"This is the first time that PBSI is not sending a women's
\nteam to the Asian Games.<\/p>\n
\"All the senior women's singles prefer to quit the center as
\nwell as the women's doubles. Perhaps only Emma and Vita are
\nstaying on and that's because they have also joined the mixed
\ndoubles.<\/p>\n
The unresolved problem of a collective contract with Japan-
\nbased Yonex sports equipment has also been a concern for her.<\/p>\n
\"Players want individual contracts, it's an old issue. But
\nuntil today, PBSI sticks to a collective contract. The officials
\nsay if we don't take the offer, just forget it.<\/p>\n
\"We have a players board -- where I, Bambang, Hendrawan,
\nCandra Wijaya and Lidya Djaelawidjaja are members -- but PBSI
\nnever listens to us. It's useless. So we have all resigned from
\nthe board.\"<\/p>\n
Minarti said the gap between officials and players was getting
\nwider, and that has worsened the situation.<\/p>\n
\"There's no personal approach, no openness, no trust.\"<\/p>\n
Born in Surabaya on March 24, 1968, Minarti was admitted to
\nthe center, (then located in Senayan, Central Jakarta) in 1986
\nafter the shocking defeat of Ivanna Lie, who at that time was the
\ncountry's number one single, at the 1985 National Games.<\/p>\n
\"Without such a surprising achievement, there's no way a
\nplayer could join the national team. But I think the standard has
\nchanged now. It's now much easier to become a national player
\ncompared to my era.\"<\/p>\n
During her eight-year career as a single, Minarti won the 1990
\nDutch Open.<\/p>\n
\"I always lost to Susy either in the finals or the semifinals
\nin international tournaments,\" she said, referring to best friend
\nSusy Susanti, the 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medalist.<\/p>\n
After losing a berth in the 1994 Uber Cup team to junior Mia
\nAudina, now playing for the Netherlands, Minarti switched to
\nmixed doubles partnering Tri Kusherjanto until they both claimed
\nthe 2000 Olympics silver.<\/p>\n
\"Looking back at my career, it's been a very long path and I
\nhave come to the end of the journey. But hey, there's a good
\nside! I no longer have a guilty feeling every time I skip
\ntraining,\" she said with a laugh while walking to her masseur,
\nwho was waiting for her.<\/p>",
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