PBSI denies bidding for Thomas and Uber Cups<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI)
\ndenied on Wednesday it was bidding to host the 2002 Thomas and
\nUber Cups, pointing to its own financial straits and the current
\nuncertainty in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"PBSI cannot afford to pay the fee to the Malaysian-based Gold
\nBridge Engineering and Construction, which holds the right to
\nstage the events, considering our financial condition,\" PBSI
\nsecretary-general Leo Chandra Wiranata said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"The Malaysian company has not even approached us about
\nhosting the prestigious biennial events. But we have still
\nreceived offers from other brokers about holding the events.\"<\/p>\n
Gold Bridge acquired the rights to the events last week after
\npaying US$1.5 million to the International Badminton Federation
\n(IBF). The company is currently seeking sponsors and cities to
\nhost the events.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's Berita Harian daily reported that Indonesia was one
\nof the candidates, along with Beijing, Hong Kong and Kuala
\nLumpur, to host the events.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia would surely benefit if it hosted the events.
\nUnfortunately, current conditions prevent PBSI from bidding to
\nhost the events.<\/p>\n
\"It would be different if IBF directly appointed us to host
\nthe events, otherwise we must cover all the expenses,\" Leo said.<\/p>\n
Berita Harian also reported that Gold Bridge was doubtful
\nabout staging the events in Malaysia after successfully staging
\nthe events in the country in 2000.<\/p>\n
Malaysia hopes to follow Hong Kong, which hosted the events in
\n1996 and 1998.<\/p>\n
\"Malaysia is indeed a strategic place to stage the events but
\nwe have several problems such as sponsorship, expenses and our
\nnational team's achievements, which have forced us to look for
\nanother country,\" Gold Bridge president Datuk Mustafa Abdul Hamid
\nwas quoted as saying by Berita Harian.<\/p>\n
\"We have three other candidates to host the events: Beijing,
\nHong Kong and Jakarta, each of which has its advantages which
\nmakes it difficult to choose. But we will settle the matter
\nbefore the Sudirman Cup and World Championship in May,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Leo said Hong Kong would probably find it difficult to find
\nsponsors for the events. \"The Hong Kong Open organizers suffered
\nsubstantial losses and it would be quite difficult to draw more
\nsponsors now.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Beijing reportedly denied bidding to host the
\nevents. \"China has never considered hosting the 2002 Thomas Cup
\nand Uber Cup,\" an official at the Badminton Association of China
\nwas quoted as saying by satusports.com on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Presidency<\/p>\n
Leo also said PBSI had not thrown its weight behind any other
\ncandidate for the IBF presidency but Indonesian Justian
\nSuhandinata.<\/p>\n
\"PBSI has never supported any candidate but Justian. We are
\nnot campaigning for him, but just allowing the system to
\nproceed,\" Leo said, adding that the new IBF president would be
\nelected on June 3 in Seville, Spain.<\/p>\n
Leo was responding to statements by Asian Badminton
\nConfederation (ABC) official Punch Gunalan, who was quoted by
\nMalaysia's Bernama news agency as saying earlier this week that
\nIndonesia supported Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah for the
\npresidency.<\/p>\n
Bernama also said badminton powerhouses China, Denmark, South
\nKorea and Malaysia backed the sultan, who is the favorite to
\nreplace outgoing IBF president Lu Zhenrong of China.<\/p>\n
The five countries, each of which owns five votes, are among
\nthe 50 out of 140 IBF members that reportedly support the
\nsultan's candidacy.<\/p>\n
Antara quoted Leo as saying that PBSI would maintain a low
\nprofile in the race for the IBF presidency, adding that Justian
\nhad a slight chance to win the election.<\/p>\n
Another candidate for the IBF presidency is ABC president Korn
\nDabbaransi of Thailand. (nvn)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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