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.