Badminton champion UN envoy

JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has named former world badminton champion Rudy Hartono as its first goodwill ambassador in Indonesia.

Hartono, 48, is also eight-time All England badminton champion and coached Indonesia's team that won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

UNDP resident representative Ravi Rajan said last Thursday that Rudy Hartono would help the agency fight poverty in the world's fourth most populous nation.

Rajan said about 11 percent of Indonesia's 200 million people were classified as poor nowadays compared to more than 60 percent in the 1970s when Hartono was at the peak of his playing career.

Hartono said he would try to help young Indonesians overcome poverty through badminton and other sports.

His appointment is for one year. (aan)