Can RI badminton reclaim its lost pride?

Primastuti Handayani, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) elected its new chairman last weekend. Businessman Chairul Tanjung, owner of Bank Mega, defeated Justian Suhandinata, a well known figure in badminton world, in a one-sided contest, 252 votes to 13.

The result revealed two things. On the one hand, those in the nation's badminton circles are clearly no longer dependent on the Army, as they had been after Gen. (ret.) Try Sutrisno took over as chairman in 1989. On the other hand, the figure of Chairul demonstrates an ongoing dependence on money.

The question now is, will Chairul be able to lead PBSI effectively, given that he has no record of involvement in the sport? Can he meet the demands of badminton lovers to retain the Thomas Cup at next year's finals in Guangzhou, China?

The answers depend on Chairul.

First, he must set up a solid team to overcome the existing problems within the association. Picking "old players" to join the organization will cause problems down the track as some tend to take advantage of their positions to benefit their own clubs or chapters.

Some officials under the previous tenure of Gen. (ret.) Subagyo Hadisiswoyo remained attached to their chapters.

Their conflict of interest becomes crystal clear whenever the Association has to select shutters for the Grand Prix series tournaments and other major events such as the World Championships, the Sudirman Cup, the Thomas and Uber Cup and the Olympics. Personal likes and dislikes have played a more important role in the selection process than the players' records of achievement.

Chairul must urge his officials to set their interests aside for the sake of the country's badminton development.

Second, he must set up a better and stronger foundation for developing the sport, which has been the country's only source of Olympic gold medals.

Chairul must optimize the role of the training center director, allowing him to become professional and independent by giving him full authority in hiring coaches, talent scouting and the selection of players for tournaments.

PBSI must continue the system of annual contracts, from directors to coaches. If they fail to perform, PBSI then has the authority to replace them with better candidates.

Chairul, who has promised to seek "foster parents" for PBSI's training centers in the provinces, should increase the number of domestic tournaments.

Third, Chairul's background as a businessman has given hope to athletes, coaches and others in the badminton world that he will bring in some much needed cash.

He must review the collective contract system between PBSI and Japan-based sports equipment firm Yonex, which, according to national athletes, has prevented them from securing other sponsors.

With such international caliber figures as world champion Hendrawan and Olympic champion Candra Wijaya, PBSI should have been able to collect more than the US$1.1 million in annual sponsorships so far provided by Yonex.

Both Hendrawan and Candra, along with other senior shuttlers, had floated the possibility of individual sponsorship but their idea was turned down by PBSI officials.

The current collective contract system has indeed helped the juniors to secure increased funding. Unfortunately, it has spoiled them as they have become satisfied with their achievements so far. In contrast, the seniors, who have given their all, have become dissatisfied with a system that forces them to cross subsidize their junior colleagues.

Another clause of the contract -- that additional collective sponsorship deals must reach $300,000 annually -- has led other companies to opt for "off-air" individual sponsorships with selected players. This means shuttlers are not allowed to display the sponsor's logo on their clothing while competing.

The inability of previous officials to overcome the above three problems has cost Indonesia a great deal. It is losing potential winners, including former world number one men's doubles pairing Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian, world champion Tony Gunawan and controversial young star Taufik Hidayat, who is currently the world's number three ranked player.

Citing a desire for greater professionalism, some players have preferred to play for other countries, due to their dissatisfaction with what they see as the prevailing personality politics.

With less than seven months left to gear up for the Thomas and Uber Cup, Chairul must work hard, hand-in-hand with his new officials to defend the most prestigious men's team crown.

The new scoring system of the best-of-five-games in seven points will pose problems for defending champion Indonesia.

Even Hendrawan himself has urged PBSI to re-call Taufik to join the Thomas Cup team. The new system, which benefits speed- and-power shuttlers, will give an advantage to host China. China -- which has collected the Uber and Sudirman Cups in the past -- has erected a banner in its training center saying "We must work hard as the Thomas Cup is still in Indonesia".

But the association will have to swallow its pride if it is to embrace Taufik and other juniors including Ardiansyah and Sony Dwi Kuncoro and satisfy Indonesian badminton lovers' key demand: Keep the Thomas Cup here.