From Guangzhou with pride
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.
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.