Does success on sporting field really matter?

Primastuti Handayani, Jakarta

"Even if Indonesia wins, so what?" a friend asked a few days ago, prior to Indonesia's semifinal berth against Denmark at the ninth Sudirman Cup badminton mixed team championship in Beijing.

Indonesia finally bowed out to eventual champion China 0-3 in Sunday's final. But praise has been showered on the national shuttlers, as on paper it was predicted they would lose against China.

My friend argued that a victory in sport would not bring any direct benefit to our society, let alone political or economical impacts.

I was stunned.

I have been covering sports for more than five years, and this has filled me with the belief that only by having international achievements in sport can Indonesia become well-known for something positive, rather than earning superlatives in matters of notoriety.

Remember the massive violence against Chinese Indonesians during the May 1998 riots? The tragedy coincided with Indonesia's victory over China in the Thomas Cup tournament in Hong Kong which should be attributed mostly to Indonesian shuttlers of Chinese descent.

The coverage of the ongoing civil war in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, clashes in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and other areas, not to mention the findings of national and international bodies on rampant corruption practices in the country, not to forget the re-emergence of polio, has not exactly cast Indonesia in a positive light internationally.

We have few achievements that could somehow redeem us from disgrace and humiliation.

Except, perhaps, for international recognition in sport.

Unfortunately, our sporting achievements have been on the decline over the past few years, to the extent that fans seem to prefer to watch if Fernando Alonso can bring Renault to the F1 podium rather than watching Indonesia's endeavors to win the Tiger Cup.

We used to have strong badminton teams, both in men's and women's, but the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) officials' negligence in rejuvenating the squad has been very costly.

No longer do we have reliable players such as shuttler-cum- businesswoman Susy Susanti and Mia Audina, now playing for the Netherlands, in the women's squad. Rexy Mainaky is now coaching England, and player-turn-coach Hendrawan is also gone.

And such problems also occur in other sports.

Officials prefer to rely on certain tried and tested players, for the assurance that they will present the title. But they forget that there are classes of events that match the particular levels of players.

Suggestions have poured in to the National Sports Council (KONI) that sports organizations and clubs should have regular domestic competitions that would also serve as a way to scout for new talent.

Athletes who have won medals at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games should stay at that level and prepare themselves to compete at the higher level of the Asian Games, dubbed the second major sporting event after the Olympics, or even for the Olympics themselves.

Such a scheme would catapult those who are still at the provincial or national level to work harder so they can compete at regional or international level.

But, such suggestions have not been implemented to this day.

Apart from that, talent scouting and recruitment should also be an independent process, without interference from sports officials who want to make sure that "their" athletes get into national squads, regardless their quality.

Another important aspect is that our national coaches do not have formal education, nor regular training or workshops. In China coaches regularly gather to upgrade and standardize their coaching methods.

The government must also be active in making sport a part of our culture by providing Olympic-standard facilities in every province.

But it seems city spatial planning has pushed this issue even further from reality. Take Jakarta as an example. The city administration plans to convert the Menteng soccer stadium into a city park, that would also include cafes and jogging tracks.

The government and the House of Representatives have also yet to pass the sports bill, which would stipulate, among other things, the welfare of national athletes who all this time have had to survive on their own without any assistance, and who are ignored once they pass their heyday.

By providing sports facilities, accessible to all citizens, the government will help meet children's need for open space for exercise.

Walking down narrow alleys in the capital, it's easy to find children playing soccer wearing Wayne Rooney's Manchester United jersey, or Brazilian Ronaldo's shirt.

Although small, such enthusiasm shows that sport is part of our lives. It's a matter on how we -- the government and society -- can cater to such needs.

Discussions about this issue have taken place quite frequently, but nothing seems to change.

There are fears that if our achievements in badminton itself -- known as Indonesia's most reliable sport in terms of gaining international recognition -- have sharply declined; so what about the fate of other sports?

Moreover, Indonesia has a long list of sporting competitions to prepare itself for -- the SEA Games in Manila this year, the 2005 World badminton championships in Anaheim, Los Angeles, next year's Asian Games in Doha and Thomas/Uber Cup badminton team championships in Tokyo and Sendai, Japan, and other regular sporting events.

Should the sports community, supported by the public and the government, not immediately address these acute problems in our sports sector, Indonesians will only see more and more crushing defeats at international sporting events.

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.