Two silvers, two different countries<\/p>\n
Raf Casert
\nAssociated Press\/Athens<\/p>\n
Eight years after Atlanta, the color of Mia Audina's Olympic
\nmedal may be the same - silver. Just about everything else in her
\nlife is different.<\/p>\n
The badminton player who won her first Olympic medal at
\nAtlanta as a 16-year-old prodigy for Indonesia earned second
\nplace on Thursday as a seasoned adult for her adopted country the
\nNetherlands.<\/p>\n
What lies in between is a story that ties the Netherlands with
\nits former colonies in Asia and South America, family heartbreak,
\ndevout belief, and the love of sport that binds all.<\/p>\n
\"This medal means that I am still on the right track. And
\nafter all these years it is something which is not that easy to
\nsay,\" Audina said.<\/p>\n
Badminton is to the 210 million Indonesians what soccer is to
\nBrazil and baseball to the United States. And, as a teenager,
\nthere was none better than Audina.<\/p>\n
Susi Susanti became a national icon when she won badminton's
\nfirst gold at Barcelona in 1992. When Audina gave Indonesia the
\nvital point to win the world team Uber Cup in 1994 as a mere 14-
\nyear old, Susanti's succession seemed assured. People were
\nthronging the streets just to get close to her.<\/p>\n
Two years later, she gave Indonesia silver in Atlanta to
\nbecome the youngest Olympic medalist in the sport.<\/p>\n
Then things started to go badly wrong for her.<\/p>\n
A deeply religious woman, she went to church one day to listen
\nto Tylio Lobman, a Dutch-born Christian gospel singer whose
\nheritage is from Suriname - like Indonesia a former Dutch colony.
\nIt was love at first sight.<\/p>\n
There was opposition to the international relationship and the
\nmedia, centering on their superstar, kept on glaring. \"There was
\na lot of pressure,\" said Lobman.<\/p>\n
Within her family too, rifts emerged. Then Audina's mother got
\nsick and she spent months caring for her, neglecting the ruthless
\ntraining regimen top badminton players have to maintain.<\/p>\n
Her mother died in 1999 and soon afterward the Indonesian
\nbadminton federation removed her from the team. She had sunk in
\nthe world rankings and needed major change in her life.<\/p>\n
\"One factor alone can ruin a sporting career,\" said her
\nhusband Lobman. \"The death of her mother was that. We had to
\ndecide whether to continue grieving or start all anew.\"<\/p>\n
They took the decision to leave everything behind and start
\nfresh in Lobman's Netherlands.<\/p>\n
With deep belief in God and her abilities, she started the
\nlong road back to the elite of her sport in a country half a
\nworld away. She gained citizenship and started working hard on
\nher game.<\/p>\n
At 24, it all paid off with a second silver.<\/p>\n
\"It is because of hard work, an ironclad mentality, extreme
\nperseverance and a lot of faith in God,\" Lobman said.<\/p>\n
Not to mention the support of a whole nation.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands has long become a multicultural community and
\nthe fans have adopted Audina as their own.<\/p>\n
During her loss to Zhang Ning on Thursday, Dutch fans were
\ncontinuously shouting \"Mia, Mia, Mia\" in the Goudi Olympic hall,
\nand after the final she was mobbed by orange-clad fans who
\nembraced her.<\/p>\n
\"She is great. So open and totally Dutch,\" said fan Fer van
\nder Hurk.<\/p>\n
Lobman said that after the silver on Thursday, some
\nIndonesians in the hall kept referring to her as \"our Mia.\"<\/p>\n
\"Not too many people can say that they have given two
\ndifferent countries silver,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/two-silvers-two-different-countries-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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