Badminton body was unfair to me, says Minarti Timur

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian mixed doubles Olympics silver medalist Minarti Timur expressed her disappointment with the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) following its decision to supervise her performance until July and separate her from partner Tri Kusherjanto.

"What PBSI did to me was very unfair. We just grabbed the Olympics silver and they separate me from Tri because they want him to have a younger partner," she said emotionally on Wednesday.

Minarti will partner Bambang Supriyanto in the upcoming All England in Birmingham, England, from March 7 to March 11.

"Nobody at the center wants to be treated like this. I don't know what PBSI means by supervising me until July. If they don't want me at the center, I'll quit.

"Antonius (Budi Arianto) and Ricky (Achmad Subgadja) decided to quit the center because they were disappointed by the decision. They can't do that to a 1996 Olympics champion."

"We, as seniors at the center, know our limits. When we start performing badly, we know it's time to quit.

PBSI stated in its letter that five players, including Ricky, Antonius and Minarti, would be supervised until July with regards to their declining condition.

"After winning the Olympics silver, I won the Asian Badminton Championships with Bambang. I am not being arrogant, but let's see if my juniors would perform as well as I have.

The letter -- comprising names of athletes to be admitted at the Indonesian Badminton Center -- was issued on Feb. 5, and it sparked controversy.

First, world number five Taufik Hidayat protested the exclusion of coach Mulyo Handoyo before the PBSI changed its mind and decided to use the coach until the World Championships in Seville, Spain, in May.

Second, the 1996 Olympics gold medalist Ricky and bronze medalist Antonius submitted their resignation letters.

Like Taufik, Minarti also found out about PBSI's decision from the newspapers.

"When PBSI called us to the center on Feb. 5, none of us had received the letter. We got it a week later. The funny thing is the security guards at the center got the letter before the athletes. The guards told me that PBSI would be supervising me until July."

Minarti, who joined the center in 1986, along with former badminton queen Susy Susanti and Ricky, said she was annoyed with the decision.

"At first, I felt very annoyed and let down. But my coach (Richard Mainaky) urged me to think positively.

The 32-year-old shuttler hoped PBSI would consult with players before making crucial decisions.

"PBSI officials could have discussed the matter with us earlier. If they did, we could have helped come up with solutions."

Similar

Antonius had a similar complaint.

"PBSI doesn't have to do that. They could at least speak to us first. We realize our situation ... It appears PBSI is not considering our past achievements," he said earlier.

Antonius and Ricky submitted their resignation letters to PBSI on Saturday to begin playing professionally. They are still looking for sponsors to help them compete abroad.

"We still want to play, but we realize that PBSI has financial problems. Therefore, we are trying to find our own sponsors," said Ricky, who won the 1996 Olympic gold medal with Rexy Ronald Mainaky.

"We realize that we won't be able to compete against younger shuttlers to meet PBSI targets. It's better for PBSI to use the limited funds they have to finance them (the younger players)in tournaments abroad," said the 30-year-old shuttler.

Antonius, who took the 1996 Olympic bronze with Denny Kantono, said they had been negotiating with several companies, but he declined to name them.

"Hopefully, we will find sponsors to help finance us. So far, we have been using our own money to compete abroad."

"If we perform well in the tournaments, we'll continue our playing professionally."

The pair will compete in six tournaments, starting with the All England.

Antonius will fly to London on Sunday to help Rexy who is now coaching the English national team. Antonius will be a practice partner for English players. Ricky will leave for England with the national team.

Both players will still serve as practice partners for juniors at the center. (yan)