From Guangzhou with pride

To the delight of many here at home, the men's team 2002 Thomas Cup badminton competition in Guangzhou, China, finished with Indonesia making history once again, bringing home the trophy for the fifth consecutive time and a total of 13 times in all. Facing archrival Malaysia in the final, the team started waveringly but senior shuttler Hendrawan helped the country in the do-or-die decisive match to retain the coveted trophy.

Once again, badminton has lifted the country's pride. Many Indonesians had been in doubt about the national team's capabilities in view of the team's poor preparation, starting from their poor performance in the Grand Prix series earlier this year, to a dispute between singles Taufik Hidayat and the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) over his move to Singapore and Hendrawan's problem in acquiring his Indonesian citizenship certificate (SBKRI).

Mounting motivation, however, helped arouse in the shuttlers the determination to score yet another historical feat and helped them work harder.

The victory, however, raises a very important question: Who will defend the trophy in two years time? Indonesia's team line- up comprises old-hand players, including singles Hendrawan, Marlev Mainaky, Budi Santoso and doubles Tri Kusheryanto and Bambang Suprianto. While other countries, particularly host China, have deployed their second stringers, PBSI insisted in fielding their seniors. The result was good, but danger looms should PBSI fail to begin grooming youngsters, including singles players Ardiansyah and Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

PBSI chairman Chaerul Tanjung has set himself the high ambition of making a clean sweep at the 2004 Athens Olympics -- the same year the Thomas Cup is at stake again. Despite the fact that the possibility of success is slight, he has appointed eight-time All England champion Rudy Hartono to be in charge of the ambitious project. PBSI still has a chance to field the second stringers in the Grand Prix series and other international events, including the 2002 Busan Asian Games, the 2003 Southeast Asian Games, the 2003 World Championships, before preparing them for the major events in 2004.

Besides their hard work, our shuttlers, just like other athletes, also need to be rewarded. They definitely do not need to be given hero titles, nor paraded around the city or given medals. What they need is the guarantee of being able to live a reasonably comfortable life when their heyday is over. They also, like other citizens, deserve fair treatment from our officials.

With lifetime guarantees, our athletes, not only shuttlers, can focus their attention more on their international achievements without having to think of what to do to earn more money. We don't want to see our heroes end up selling instant noodles as did Martha Kase, the 1987 Southeast Asian Games silver medalist for the 3,000 meters running event. We want the government to provide them with lifetime allowances based on their international performances.

Athletes are taken from their families at a very young age and are forced to leave school to concentrate on training every single day. The welfare of athletes should therefore be protected by the Sports Bill, which until today remains in its draft form at the House of Representatives.

It would be most appropriate and beneficial for our legislators to work harder for the welfare of the people, including our shuttlers, and to stop thinking of the 2004 general election only.