Indonesia sets badminton standard.
Indonesia sets badminton standard.
By Dwiatmanta
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia may remain a small dot on the world's
sports map, but badminton has at least given it distinction.
All the major titles, including a treble of Olympic gold
medals, world championship laurels, and the Thomas and Uber Cups,
have adorned the cabinet of the Badminton Association of
Indonesia (PBSI) in the past three years. The dominance is so
complete that no one dares to bet on a rest-of-the-world team in
a duel against Indonesia's star-studded shuttlers.
"Not only does badminton have a grass roots following among
the people here, but Indonesia is also the best in the world at
cultivating badminton talent," asserts Icuk Sugiarto, a former
world champion who now coaches 100 young shuttlers at the Pelita
Jaya club in West Jakarta. Lili Tampi, Indonesia's world-class
women's doubles specialist, was groomed at the club.
Villagers hitting a shuttlecock here and there is a very
common sight in the country of 190 million people. Not many of
them, however, get to play on the regulation 81.74-square-meter
court, recognized in England in the 1870s.
Nobody knows exactly when the sport was brought to the
archipelago. It was 1958, though, when Indonesia began its long-
time reign, winning its first All-England men's singles title
through the hard work of Tan Joe Hok. The prestigious
tournament's winners' list has plenty of Indonesian entries,
including record eight time champion Rudy Hartono.
With nearly 1,000 clubs and provincial training centers
throughout the archipelago, it looks like Indonesia will never
run out of prodigies. Despite the enormous number of talented
players, however, only a few will pass the strict selection to
the national team.
A shuttler undergoes a long journey to join the elite squad at
PBSI's base camp in Cilangkap, East Jakarta. Taught by a club, a
promising shuttler must then prove themselves at a provincial
training center before entering Cilangkap.
"It takes a player five or six years of rigorous training to
reach national level," Icuk explained.
Training program
The 1983 world champion added that integrated training
programs and continuous competition are key points in Indonesia's
success in maintaining its super power status.
Suhantoro, a sports doctor, shared Icuk's opinion, and added
that such a rigorous regiment requires an athlete to be
physically excellent.
"The level of Indonesian shuttlers' fitness has become the
world standard in badminton," said Suhantoro who works for the
national sports governing body.
Badminton receives full support from both the government and
the public. "Badminton in Indonesia is the same as soccer in
Brazil," he pointed out.
He praised PBSI for being the only national sport body to
involve science and technology in its training program.
"Scientific measures have been fully applied to PBSI's
decision making process," Suhantoro said, referring to Mia
Audina's expulsion from the national badminton team for the Asian
Games in Hiroshima.
The Uber Cup heroine failed a fitness test prior to the
selection for the Asiad badminton team, according to Suhantoro.
Retno Kustiah, former Uber Cup member and two time Asian Games
women's doubles gold medalist, now coaches shuttlers at the Jaya
Raya club in Ragunan, South Jakarta. She stated that her trainees
undergo busy annual programs. "They have to get used to learning
from each game they play," she said.
Retno added there may be six tournaments within a month,
excluding provincial and national events. "Only European
badminton playing countries have as many events as Indonesia,"
she stressed.
Icuk revealed that his club, funded by Bakrie Brothers
corporation, has an annual budget of more than Rp 300 million
(US$138,400). The money is spent on training and sending players
to different tournaments.
Regular competitions can become boring, Icuk admitted. He
therefore initiated a unique tournament for all ages last month,
where seasoned players met novices. Competition was kept fair as
junior players only had to rack up four points against
experienced rivals to win.
More than 100 shuttlers participated in the tournament, which
Icuk labeled as a break from routine. Everyone was vying for the
top prize of a motorcycle. "Next year, a car will be at stake,"
Icuk promised.
Motivation
Both Icuk and Retno agree that only a handful of talented
players will ever cap their career with international
recognition. "Why a talented, skillful player is unable to reach
that height is complicated," said Retno.
She referred specifically to the imbalance in Indonesia's
ladies singles team. World reigning champion Susi Susanti stands
heads and shoulders above her teammates, with who she was on the
same level for many years at Cilangkap.
"Susi is an exception. She has huge ambition and is able to
motivate herself, a key factor her colleagues don't have," Retno
said, adding that nobody will be able to match Susi within five
years.
Retno, however, refuses to force Susi's standards on her
players. "I give them chance after chance, hoping that they will
build up their self-motivation," said Retno. The punishment for
those who waste the opportunity is simple: they are sent home.
Jaya Raya houses its players in a dormitory located close to
Ragunan schools. Scholarships are available for promising
shuttlers.
Icuk said he takes the same punitive measures against his
players who fail to improve. "Nineteen is the limit for a player
who wants to shoot for a badminton career," said Icuk.
"I'm sorry that I have to ask 19-year-old players to forget
their dream of becoming a world-class shuttler when they fail to
meet the standards," Icuk commented.