State of confusion: Learning from Icuk's exit<\/p>\n
Icuk Sugiarto's sudden resignation from the Badminton Association
\nof Indonesia (PBSI) earlier this week left the Sudirman Cup team
\nwithout a manager. Although PBSI quickly shifted into damage
\ncontrol mode and said a new replacement would be appointed by
\nnext week, will it be a case of too little, too late for
\nIndonesia's hopes in the mixed team competition?<\/p>\n
For observers of PBSI activities, including sports reporters,
\nIcuk's departure seemed destined to come sooner or later, and
\nmost likely in a flurry of angry recriminations.<\/p>\n
And so it did.<\/p>\n
Opinionated and prickly, Icuk would sometimes grumble to
\nreporters about the real or perceived limitations on his powers
\nas head of development, duties which included overseeing the
\nNational Badminton Training Center and preparing the Sudirman Cup
\nteam for Beijing in May.<\/p>\n
Part of the administrative team appointed by new PBSI chairman
\nSutiyoso in 2004, Icuk is known as a good coach and talent scout.
\nYet he seemed to lack the requisite qualities -- including being
\na good communicator, showing a willingness to listen and adapt to
\nconstraints -- of a manager.<\/p>\n
Instead of embarking on a gladhanding, affable approach to
\nchanging an entrenched, highly political organizational system
\nfrom within, the 1983 men's singles World Champion tended to rub
\npeople the wrong way.<\/p>\n
The most notorious incident was his verbal butting of heads --
\nin front of reporters! -- with similarly hot-tempered Athens gold
\nmedalist Taufik Hidayat about a bonus allocation earlier this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
"It seemed every time we met him he was complaining about
\nsomething," said one reporter who covers the national center.
\n"Icuk speaks softly, but it's always very emotionally charged,
\nsharp criticism."<\/p>\n
Predictably, he exited in a snit, saying the association
\nhanded him an "us-or-them" ultimatum after he failed to attend an
\nApril 1 meeting due to an overseas commitment with the Office of
\nthe State Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs.<\/p>\n
Others, however, contend Icuk was already on dangerous ground
\nbecause of Indonesia's less than stellar performances in major
\nEuropean tournaments this year.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason, Icuk's resignation has been accepted and
\nPBSI has said it will keep things as normal as possible for
\nplayers in the run-up to the Sudirman Cup. But with less than a
\nmonth until the event begins, the association is taking its own
\nsweet time in picking a replacement.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the association announced that a new manager for
\nthe Beijing campaign would not be appointed until next week,
\nafter Sutiyoso, who is also Jakarta governor, has returned from a
\nforeign trip. For the Indonesian team, already at a huge
\ndisadvantage in facing the mighty Chinese on home soil, the
\nweeklong vacuum without a captain at the helm may prove
\ninsurmountable.<\/p>\n
The Icuk affair and its handling point to several problems
\nthat continue to beset the association, as well as other sports
\nbodies in the country.<\/p>\n
For one, it's debatable if Icuk was the right man for the job,
\nbut he was certainly the right man in the right camp in 2004.
\nIt's still very much a case of who you know, not what you know,
\nin getting ahead in sports' political jockeying.<\/p>\n
Like parties vying for position in a seething political arena,
\nsports organizations are hives of ambition among vested
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
Thus, regardless of whether administrators are succeeding in
\ntheir objectives, their time will be up once the political merry-
\ngo-round goes in the other direction.<\/p>\n
The association's biding its time until the big boss returns
\nto provide his stamp of authority also underscores the reluctance
\nto delegate power to competent individuals. Yes, the chief should
\nbe willing to take responsibility, but he or she must also be
\nable to execute swift, prudent and firm decisions when an
\nemergency situation dictates.<\/p>\n
For a longtime badminton observer, it's yet another indication
\nof the pervasive fear of giving up a bit of power or sharing
\nknowledge with others that inhibits the sport's development.<\/p>\n
"It's still the case that coaches feel they cannot give out
\ninformation on what they are doing because they don't want other
\nplayers to get better than their team. It's not like in China,
\nwhere coaches from across the country gather for meetings on
\nstandardized coaching, and it has obviously worked wonders."<\/p>\n
There you have it: Better judgment decisions, the delegation
\nof power and thinking of the greater good instead of insular
\ninterests are what Indonesian badminton -- and sports -- need to
\nsucceed.<\/p>\n
Nothing groundbreaking about the above, but still the points
\nhave failed to sink in as local badminton backslides from its
\nextended glory days of the 1970s to early '90s. Here's hoping
\nthat one day soon we will finally get the message, and without
\nall the accompanying drama.<\/p>\n
-- Bruce Emond<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/state-of-confusion-learning-from-icuks-exit-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }