Gracious fans wanted

Gracious fans wanted

The Thomas and Uber Cup badminton team championships are in
full swing this weekend at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium in
Senayan, Central Jakarta. It is the sixth time Jakarta has hosted
one of the greatest events in world badminton.

As a host, Indonesia's national pride is at stake on a few
different levels, not least of which is to reassure the
international community that the country is safe enough to
welcome participating shuttlers from 17 countries.

The upcoming presidential election on July 5; the recent
police brutality against students in Makassar; the fear of
snipers and more bloodshed in Ambon; the war in Aceh; not to
mention Indonesia's handling of the terrorism issue, all have put
Indonesia firmly under the international spotlight.

The as yet unexplained May 1998 riots, which subsequently led
to the resignation of former President Soeharto, still haunt the
nation. During the riots, a lot of property belonging to Chinese-
Indonesians were destroyed, a large number of Chinese-Indonesian
girls were raped and many other people were trapped in burning
buildings.

The six-year-old reform era has not helped the nation's
shuttlers much, many of whom are Chinese-Indonesians who have not
yet even been recognized as true citizens of this country. They
still are required to present certain documents to the
authorities (including the controversial SBKRI) whenever they
apply for a passport, business license, university admission,
etc.

Many of the government officials seem to disregard the fact
that Chinese-Indonesians have proven themselves as defenders of
this country. They have fought hard in tough competitions just to
let other Indonesian citizens see the red-and-white flag hoisted
in major sports events.

Even without security concerns, the national men's shuttlers
are carrying a heavy burden on their shoulders. The tens of
millions of avid badminton fans in the country expect nothing
less than first place and a sixth consecutive Thomas Cup title
(14th in the history of the event).

An important question was raised two years ago after the
victory in Guangzhou by Hendrawan and friends. The retirement of
Hendrawan and Marlev Mainaky in the singles has changed the look
of the squad markedly, and the question quickly became; who could
replace them?

This year, Indonesia will turn to Taufik Hidayat, Sony Dwi
Kuncoro, Simon Santoso and Wimpie Mahardi in the singles, and the
pairings of Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian, Candra Wijaya/Halim Heryanto
and Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven Yulianto in the doubles. Even though
many of the shuttlers are debuting in their first Thomas Cup,
they are expected to be able to handle all the pressure on the
court, including the notorious supporters in Senayan.

The fans here must also learn to be gracious in defeat as
well, not just "fair weather" fans who turn against our boys
after a tough loss. For as long as anyone can remember,
Indonesian supporters have been infamous, rabid in their
encouragement of winners and cruel in their criticism of the
vanquished. Hurling abuse along with their water bottles, griping
at losing players or making harsh comments at opponents are just
part of their general misconduct. This time however, the fans
must learn to support the athletes in a mature manner regardless
of the results.

It was sad to see that two warm-up competitions -- in Batam
and Bandung -- recently did not have many fans turn up as
expected earlier. Several other competitions in Senayan also
failed to attract the public.

The athletes will definitely need the public's full support to
spur them on during the competition. Right up to the first day of
the competition, there was very little media coverage about the
event or advertising signs in the capital. Banners were only seen
within the vicinity of Senayan, while advertisements were rarely
seen in strategic places. The relatively expensive tickets --
with price ranging from Rp 25,000 (US$2.89) to Rp 150,000 -- may
have also contributed to the poor showing.

As for the girls on the Uber Cup team, despite the slight
chance for the team to qualify for the quarterfinal round --
Indonesia is in the same group with the Netherlands and defending
champion China -- the girls are expected to perform well for the
home crowd.

The organizing committee has worked hard to make the event a
success, despite the aging arena, and its lack of current
technological facilities, such as those used in other
international events that allow the press to upload their stories
on computers.

This country's shuttlers and coaches have promised to give 100
percent on the court, the organizers have worked hard and we, the
fans, must clearly show our support to help the team achieve the
goal of a record sixth consecutive title and the committee to
have a successful, entertaining event.