IBF expects more qualifiers for 2008<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The International Badminton Federation is looking for more
\nqualifying countries at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in a move to
\nkeep badminton as an Olympic sport, IBF President Korn Dabbaransi
\nsaid over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\"We expect there will be representatives from at least 50
\ncountries in Beijing to maintain our place among the 28 sports of
\nthe Olympics,\" Dabbaransi told reporters on the sidelines of the
\nIBF's Annual General Meeting at the Jakarta Convention Center
\nhere on Sunday.<\/p>\n
After being played as an exhibition sport at the 1988 Seoul
\nOlympics, badminton was officially included in the Olympics in
\n1992 in Barcelona, in which Indonesia won two golds from Alan
\nBudi Kusuma and Susi Susanti.<\/p>\n
The 2004 Olympics in Athens this August will see 172 shuttlers
\nfrom 30 countries, competing in five categories: men's singles
\nand doubles, women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles.<\/p>\n
\"We must increase the number of participating countries (in
\nBeijing),\" Dabbaransi said. He was accompanied by IBF chief in
\ncharge of operational affairs Andrew Ryan and the tournament's
\nofficer Charoen Wattanasin.<\/p>\n
The AGM meeting, which was held concurrently with the ongoing
\nThomas and Uber Cups here, was attended by delegates from 137
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated the meeting at
\nthe State Palace, making her the first head of state ever to open
\nthe meeting.<\/p>\n
Increasing the number of participating country members in the
\nOlympics will require a change in the qualifying format.<\/p>\n
To reach the target, the IBF began a decentralization program
\nthree years ago when Dabbaransi took office.<\/p>\n
The program entailed establishing confederation offices in
\nfive key continents: the United States for North America, Denmark
\nfor Europe, Malaysia for Asia, New Zealand for Australia\/Oceania
\nand Mauritius for Africa.<\/p>\n
Dabbaransi said that those offices were responsible for the
\npromotion and development of badminton in their respective
\nregions.<\/p>\n
\"The decentralization program has now enabled at least five
\ncontinents to be represented for the first time in the Thomas and
\nUber Cups,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The IBF will also pursue its \"Continentalization Program\", to
\nestablish permanent training centers, coaching programs, and the
\nrestructuring of the IBF Council and redistribution of IBF's
\nshare of the Olympic TV revenues to the five continental
\nconfederations for development projects.<\/p>\n
The IBF members also agreed that they would become a signatory
\nto the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code and create a
\npartnership with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).<\/p>\n
They also elected six people as IBF Council members: Li
\nLingwei of China, Eraj Wireshinge of Sri Lanka, Edgar Aglipay of
\nthe Philippines, Robin Bryant of Australia, Puzant Kassabian of
\nBulgaria and Peter Gachenu of Kenya.<\/p>\n
Punch Gunalan of Malaysia and Eraj Wijesinghe of Sri Lanka
\nwere elected vice presidents.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ibf-expects-more-qualifiers-for-2008-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}