Next time will be better<\/p>\n
The 2004 Thomas and Uber Cup international badminton
\nchampionships concluded on Sunday with China emerging as the
\nwinner of both coveted cups. It is an extraordinary achievement
\nfor China, scoring four consecutive victories in the Uber Cup,
\nwith nine wins in total.<\/p>\n
China's success in the Thomas Cup tourney has been expected
\nsince it last won the trophy in 1990. With another major trophy,
\nthe Sudirman Cup for mixed teams, already in its hands, this
\nnewest victory establishes China as the world's foremost
\nsuperpower in badminton .<\/p>\n
This is not surprising. It is the fruit of a combination of a
\ncontinuous and consistent training program, careful observation
\nin talent scouting, and a guarantee of the athletes' future once
\nthey are past their heyday.<\/p>\n
In contrast to China, Indonesia barely meets the above three
\nprerequisites. We have a National Badminton Center to groom
\nathletes, but the talent scouting process has yet to be
\nperfected. Conflicts of interest among clubs and the Badminton
\nAssociation of Indonesia's (PBSI) provincial branches remain
\nstrong and sometimes influence the selection of athletes required
\nto join the training center. The uncertainty of the athletes'
\nfutures after retirement has discouraged many youngsters to pick
\nsport as a career.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's defeat in both events has been predicted. Without
\nany strong players in both the men's and women's teams, it would
\nhave been a miracle if we had retained the Thomas Cup for the
\nsixth consecutive time, as was expected earlier, not to mention
\nwinning back the Uber Cup.<\/p>\n
However, there is no need to blame either the players or the
\ncoaches for the defeat. Instead, credit must be given to them for
\nfighting hard in the event. And, the decision to deploy young and
\nupcoming shuttlers must be fully supported.<\/p>\n
The strong fighting spirit shown by Adrianti Firdasari, of the
\nwar-torn Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, is a good sign that
\nall she -- and other girls in the team -- need is more
\nopportunities to prove themselves in international tournaments.
\nPBSI chairman Chairul Tanjung's statement that he would not
\ndeploy players to big tournaments, but only to one-star to
\nthree-star events, was the right decision. It is important to
\nboost those young athletes' morale in events where they have a
\nchance to win. Once they have managed to show a constant
\nperformance, as is expected, they can be sent to bigger
\ntournaments.<\/p>\n
In the men's sector, Sony Dwi Kuncoro proved his reliability
\nas a first singles. Despite his defeat to Lin Dan of China in the
\ngroup, Sony managed to overcame Wong Choon Hann of Malaysia in
\nthe quarterfinals, and even Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark in
\nthe semifinals.<\/p>\n
Taufik Hidayat, who was expected to be the team's leader, has
\nshown a constant performance. Newcomer Simon Santoso also showed
\nhis potential, although he had to bow out to 1997 World Champion
\nPeter Rasmussen of Denmark, thus sending Indonesia out of the
\nevent.<\/p>\n
PBSI must work hard to groom the shuttlers and recruit more
\nyoung talents so that they can eventually emerge as champions.
\nThe hard work is necessary, considering the upcoming Athens
\nOlympics in August, and other major tournaments that lie ahead.<\/p>\n
The biennial event itself was considered a success despite
\nsome problems prior to the championships, including a boycott
\nthreat from seven television stations against TransTV, that held
\nthe right to broadcast the event.<\/p>\n
No less an important development: Indonesian spectators
\ndisplayed much more civilized behavior and higher sportsmanship
\nthan at the last Thomas Cup event, which the country hosted 10
\nyears ago. And this time, they consistently supported the
\nnational shuttlers, irrespective of whether they were leading or
\ntrailing their opponents.<\/p>\n
Even when the national Uber Cup team lost, spectators
\napplauded and banged boom twins (bolster-like balloons) to show
\ntheir appreciation of the game, as well as to honor the winners.<\/p>\n
When Indonesia lost to Denmark in the decisive semifinals,
\nthey did not throw things at last singles player, Simon Santoso
\nbut gave him their support instead. Even when the Indonesian
\nsquad quickly returned to the players' changing room, the
\nspectators continued to applaud, showing their appreciation of
\nDenmark's victory also.<\/p>\n
The Thomas and Uber Cup championships are over. Some players
\nwent home with smiles on their faces; others had to swallow the
\nbitter pill of defeat. However, we have all learned a valuable
\nlesson from this event and hope that next time it will be better
\nstill.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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