Badminton body sends shuttlers out to clubs

JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association's athletic development deputy, Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, said yesterday the association would start its program of sending national players to clubs and provincial branches next week.

"Starting next week, we'll send four to eight men's doubles players to be trained at the Djarum club in West Jakarta. Coach Herry IP will accompany them," Siregar said.

"The reason we are sending them to the club is to enable Christian Hadinata, the Badminton Training Center director, to observe their training progress," he said.

The association will provide clubs and branches which admit national shuttlers with shuttlecocks, and pay the national coaches' salaries.

"But the branches and clubs will have to give the athletes allowances."

Of the association's 27 provincial branches, only the East Java branch has so far agreed to admit the national players. The West Java and Central Java branches have yet to agree.

The purpose of sending all but a core team of national players to train in clubs and branches is to motivate them to practice harder in order to return to the center.

"They will be the national shuttlers' substitutes. If a national shuttler can't compete in an international event there will be substitutes ready," Siregar said.

The association's secretary-general, Leo Ch. Wiranata, said Monday the association would start training the core team, using its own funds.

"Don't expect the (branches' or clubs') costs to be totally borne by the association because our funds are limited. Our top priority is to help branches which lack funds," he said.

He said some branches had problems finding sponsors for the training.

"We understand some branches are having problems starting training, so there is no other choice but to help them."

However, Leo seemed pessimistic about the training program: "I doubt the training programs will go as planned because there are fewer and fewer players." (lnt/yan)