Candra and Tony to be named Indonesia's year 2000 heroes

By Primastuti Handayani

JAKARTA (JP): If the Indonesian government wants to name year 2000 heroes, the answer must be Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan.

In the middle of the country's crisis both badminton players, each 25 years old, managed to distract world attention from unsavory perceptions of Indonesia, and hoist the red-and-white flag in Pavilion 3 of the Dome in the Olympic Park, Homebush Bay, Sydney, on Sept. 21.

Tears ran down their cheeks while they blanketed themselves in the national flag and listened to the national anthem "Indonesia Raya" played throughout the venue.

It was a time in the year that Indonesia was remembered in a good way.

Therefore the country and the nation must give thanks to both athletes.

Candra and Tony may not be as famous as compatriot Taufik Hidayat -- who is good looking, highly talented and dating a celebrity -- but their achievements this year have turned their lives upside down.

People are chasing them for autographs, companies want them to receive gifts for their success, and public figures invite them to a multitude of functions.

And all because of one success: an Olympic gold medal.

Do they deserve all the attention. The answer is yes. They deserve to enjoy the overwhelming attention because they have worked extremely hard to achieve it.

Candra and Tony have collected four titles this year. They opened the year 2000 by winning the Taipei Open after defeating the experienced Malaysian duo Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock 15- 7, 15-7 in January.

They saved Indonesia's face once again by bringing home the country's sole title at the Japan Open after ousting South Koreans Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung 15-6, 15-7 in April.

Both players earned another title, on home soil at the Indonesian Open, by beating teammates Flandy Limpele and Eng Hian 15-17, 15-6, 15-8 in August.

Their final success was at the Olympics when they eliminated Lee and Yoo 15-10, 9-15, 15-7.

Both players still find their success hard to believe.

"Sometimes I think it's too good to be true," said Candra, who was born on Sept. 16, 1975.

"Until now I have felt like enjoying it too much. The coach split us up because psychologically it's been hard for us to get back into our routines. It's like we have been flying high and it is very difficult to land again," Tony replied with a laugh.

"Now it's more difficult for us to arrange our schedule because we have so many dinner invitations to meet badminton figures. There are so many appointments with media for interviews and photo sessions. It really is much harder than before," Candra said. "We have to find time to sleep between training and those engagements."

Hard workers

Both Candra and Tony realize that they have not been recognized as much as Indonesia's other highly talented players like Taufik or doubles specialists Sigit Budiarto and Eng Hian.

They have to work really hard to be themselves nowadays.

Candra, the second son of Hendra Wijaya and Indranita, started his career as a singles player at the Rajawali club in his hometown Cirebon, West Java.

In 1989 he followed in his brother's footsteps and joined the Pelita club, before entering the Indonesian Badminton Center in 1993. However, he had to abandon his dream of becoming a singles player after contracting liver disease in 1992.

"After I recovered, I was not allowed to play singles because of my illness. I played doubles instead and started to like it. Besides, my performance was not too bad."

Candra partnered with Ade Sutrisna but the partnership became stagnant. Former men's doubles coach Christian Hadinata partnered Candra with Sigit. This partnership signaled a new start, especially after they won the 1997 World Championships. They also claimed the world number one ranking.

Unfortunately, Sigit was found guilty of using the anabolic steroid Nandrolone in 1998 and was banned from competition for one year.

Christian then partnered Candra with Tony, who, with former partner Halim Heryanto, had managed to claim the top spot.

Tony, the youngest sibling of Budianto Gunawan and Handayani Halim, was introduced to badminton by his father. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to the Center in 1993 and committed himself to his new life.

"If I didn't work all out, I would have failed. I pumped out all my energy to fulfill my ambition. If I fail in badminton, I'll quit the Center," said Tony, who was born on April 9, 1975.

The new partnership was successful, earning the pair the 1999 All England title.

However, both players felt awkward about the new collaboration. Candra felt that he abandoned Sigit, while Tony felt that he betrayed Halim.

"I have to work hard with Tony because I still have to guess what he is going to do on the court. However, I really admire his will to work hard," Candra said.

"At first I felt inferior because Candra had won the World Championships, while I was a nobody. But when I managed to win the 1999 Grand Prix Finals with Halim, everything changed," Tony said.

Next steps

After winning Olympic gold, the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) decided to temporarily separate the pair, to give them time to recover psychologically.

"With so many interviews, ceremonies and other things, we are losing time to practice. Furthermore, PBSI temporarily closed down the training center due to holidays. It's hard for us to find our rhythm and return to hard training," said Candra.

"I fell really lazy now ... all I want to do is relax," Tony replied.

But they have both agreed to start working hard again, with new challenges just around the corner.

"I want Tony to taste victory at the World Championships in Seville, Spain, in May. I have won once with Sigit and now it's time for me to make it there with Tony," Candra said.

"Winning the World Championships is also my dream," Tony said. "Besides that, we also want to win the All England title once again and collect more Grand Prix series titles."