Happy badminton finale for Minarti

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The most beautiful moment for an athlete is when he or she wins a tournament, especially before a home crowd at the end of his or her career.

American tennis ace Pete Sampras did it, hinting last Sunday that he might retire, and so did Indonesian badminton mixed doubles specialist Minarti Timur.

Grabbing her sixth Indonesia Open at the age of 34, and partnered with Bambang Suprianto, Minarti gave a farewell speech to the crowd in Surabaya, her hometown, on Sept. 1.

"I felt so relieved when I said goodbye to badminton lovers. Moreover, I could win a big tournament even without proper preparation. I finally finished what I had started as a shuttler. Besides, I'm also glad that my juniors Emma (Ermawati) and Vita (Marissa) began to show their skill as good players. I don't have to worry, they just need to concentrate on their training."

Apart from her happiness, Minarti said that sometimes late at night she still remembered her good old days.

"It's the excitement of playing that I miss a lot," she said after a training session last Wednesday at the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta.

Although she has retired, Minarti is joining the training out of her dedication to help the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) to prepare her compatriots for the 2002 Busan Asian Games next month and to gear the juniors up for three European Grand Prix series in the Denmark Open, the Dutch Open and the German Open.

"I really want to take a break. It's been so exhausting. But coach Richard (Mainaky) asked me to help him."

Minarti was expelled from the Asian Games squad prior to the Indonesia Open due to her "inability to perform". Without another major event as a target, she considered retirement as a better choice.

In her 16-year career, Minarti has grabbed the 2000 Olympics mixed doubles silver medal, the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games bronze in the mixed doubles and women's team, the 1990 Beijing Asian Games silver in the women's team, the 1997 Lausanne World Championships bronze in mixed doubles, the 1995 Chiang Mai SEA Games gold and the 1997 All England runner-up, not to mention other Grand Prix series titles.

She claimed she was satisfied with her achievements so far.

"I may have never won in major tournaments but it's more important for me to show my fighting spirit during each match. If I feel dissatisfied with all these results, when will I retire?

"Besides, ending my career with a victory is a beautiful farewell gift. Perhaps that's the way it should be.

"If I force myself to keep playing and the results are bad, people will condemn me for not realizing my ability and age," said the player, who said she wants to coach as she would fail in the business world.

Sporting a pair of black shorts and a red polo shirt, Minarti thought hard if there were other shuttlers who were of the same age as her.

"Fung Permadi (an Indonesian who plays for Taiwan)! He's a year older than me and he was still playing at the Singapore Open last month. I met him, but he said he also planned to retire."

"There are no more players at my age now," she sighed, "everybody is much younger."

Having retired hasn't made Minarti ignore the problems inside PBSI and the center.

"I'm very concerned to see that the women's singles and doubles are totally underestimated in their abilities. They don't get the same chances as the men's singles, doubles and mixed doubles to compete in international tournaments.

"This is the first time that PBSI is not sending a women's team to the Asian Games.

"All the senior women's singles prefer to quit the center as well as the women's doubles. Perhaps only Emma and Vita are staying on and that's because they have also joined the mixed doubles.

The unresolved problem of a collective contract with Japan- based Yonex sports equipment has also been a concern for her.

"Players want individual contracts, it's an old issue. But until today, PBSI sticks to a collective contract. The officials say if we don't take the offer, just forget it.

"We have a players board -- where I, Bambang, Hendrawan, Candra Wijaya and Lidya Djaelawidjaja are members -- but PBSI never listens to us. It's useless. So we have all resigned from the board."

Minarti said the gap between officials and players was getting wider, and that has worsened the situation.

"There's no personal approach, no openness, no trust."

Born in Surabaya on March 24, 1968, Minarti was admitted to the center, (then located in Senayan, Central Jakarta) in 1986 after the shocking defeat of Ivanna Lie, who at that time was the country's number one single, at the 1985 National Games.

"Without such a surprising achievement, there's no way a player could join the national team. But I think the standard has changed now. It's now much easier to become a national player compared to my era."

During her eight-year career as a single, Minarti won the 1990 Dutch Open.

"I always lost to Susy either in the finals or the semifinals in international tournaments," she said, referring to best friend Susy Susanti, the 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medalist.

After losing a berth in the 1994 Uber Cup team to junior Mia Audina, now playing for the Netherlands, Minarti switched to mixed doubles partnering Tri Kusherjanto until they both claimed the 2000 Olympics silver.

"Looking back at my career, it's been a very long path and I have come to the end of the journey. But hey, there's a good side! I no longer have a guilty feeling every time I skip training," she said with a laugh while walking to her masseur, who was waiting for her.