'Raket Mania' gets kudos from fans<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Badminton is one of the most popular sports in
\nIndonesia, sharing third position in the hearts of sports fans
\nwith basketball, just behind soccer and volleyball.<\/p>\n
This fact encouraged private TV station RCTI to produce Raket
\nMania, a special sports program focusing on badminton, tennis and
\nsquash.<\/p>\n
The 30-minute program is normally broadcast every Sunday at 1
\np.m. It has drawn huge attention from sports fans, especially
\nbadminton fans, since it was first aired on Jan. 15 this year.<\/p>\n
\"I was very surprised by the fact that so many viewers send
\nletters to us every week asking us to rerun the program,\" said
\nassistant producer Herti Purba.<\/p>\n
She said selecting Dessy Ilsanty to the host the program was
\nnot a difficult choice. \"The criteria (for the host) was that she
\nhad to be good-looking, smart and sporty. And Desy possesses all
\nthree of these factors.\"<\/p>\n
Badminton gets the most attention in the program, accounting
\nfor 60 percent of coverage, followed by tennis with 30 percent
\nand squash with 10 percent.<\/p>\n
However, these percentages can change depending on what events
\nare taking place that week. When the French Open and Wimbledon
\nwere happening, Raket Mania focused its coverage on these major
\ntennis events.<\/p>\n
Raket Mania also offers gossip on athletes in the three sports
\nand a special segment called Interval, which looks at their lives
\noff the court. In this segment, viewers can see, for example,
\nwhat Taufik Hidayat does during his spare time after his training
\nsessions. They can also see what former national shuttler Ivana
\nLie is up to these days, besides managing her badminton school in
\nBandung.<\/p>\n
In the Point segment, viewers get to see the results of any
\ncompetitions held during the week. There is also a Trivia
\nsegment, which asks a question about one of the three sports and
\ngives the answer at the end of the segment.<\/p>\n
In Outball, viewers get a glimpse of athletes' lifestyles and
\nhobbies. In one episode, Raket Mania covered women's shuttlers
\nDeyana Lomban and Lidya Djaelawidjaja's collections of
\nsunglasses. In other episode, viewers followed the two shuttlers
\nas they dove into the latest fashion trends, including the latest
\nin leisure footwear.<\/p>\n
In the last segment of the show, Break, RCTI focuses on the
\nless popular sport of squash by covering celebrities, including
\nactor Primus Yustisio, playing the sport.<\/p>\n
\"We know that squash still lacks popularity in the country and
\nwe want to introduce the sport by featuring celebrities playing
\nit,\" Herti said.<\/p>\n
Because of the Sanyo Indonesia Open, being held at the Senayan
\nTennis Indoor Stadium since Wednesday, Raket Mania viewers will
\nnot be able to watch the program this week. Instead, RCTI will
\nair Road to the Final, taking viewers back through the earlier
\naction of the tournament. The station will broadcast the final of
\nthe tournament live at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
The popularity of Raket Mania has encouraged RCTI to nominate
\nit for best sports program at the Asian Broadcasting Awards next
\nyear. They hope to duplicate the success of ANteve's Majalah
\nOlahraga, which won the award in 1998 and 1999.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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