KONI rouses shuttlers toward Olympic gold
KONI rouses shuttlers toward Olympic gold
Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta
The national badminton training camp manager urged shuttlers
to repeat its gold feat in the upcoming Olympics as the National
Sports Council (KONI) received financial support to send its 39-
strong delegation to Athens on Wednesday.
Indonesia's Olympic hopefuls consist athletes representing 14
sports, with the country's greatest hope -- its badminton team --
fronting 14 players.
"The shuttlers, especially the men's doubles players, must
realize that people are banking their hopes on them for a gold
like their predecessors in the previous Olympics. That
expectation should be a motivation to them during the training,"
training camp manager Christian said after witnessing the signing
of a sponsorship pledge by Samsung Electronics.
The badminton team has always brought back an Olympic gold
since Barcelona 1992, where Alan Budikusuma and Susi Susanti
claimed a double victory.
Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky were the only gold medalists
from Indonesia in the men's doubles in the Atlanta Olympics,
followed by Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan's paired triumph in
Sydney.
The Athens badminton team comprises Sony Dwi Kuncoro and
Taufik Hidayat in the men's singles, Luluk Hadiyanto/Alven
Yulianto, Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian and Sigit Budiarto/Tri
Kusharjanto in the men's doubles, Nova Widianto/Vita Marissa and
Anggun Nugroho/Eny Widiowati in the mixed doubles and Jo
Novita/Lita Nurlita as the only women's doubles pair.
Doubles pair Luluk/Alven, ranked sixth in the world, are the
highest ranked among their compatriots and, according to
Christian, Indonesia's best hope.
Christian also relished Indonesia's chance in the men's
singles, and said Sony and Taufik should be able to reach the
final to guarantee at least a silver.
An Olympic silver is also expected in the mixed doubles to
emulate Tri Kusharjanto and Minarti Timur's Sydney run in 2000.
"I also expect surprises in the women's doubles in Athens," he
said.
Christian said preparations for Athens were almost complete,
adding that the shuttlers were being prepared mentally for the
world's greatest athletic meet.
Meanwhile, Samsung pledged Rp 1.5 billion (US$xx million) to
KONI, Rp 1 billion of which is cash and the remainder in
products.
KONI chairman Agum Gumelar said the council had raised the
targeted budget of Rp 26 billion for their Olympics bid.
"The funds are available right now, (so) there's no need to
worry about that any more. We have even allocated bonuses for
medalists," Agum said after the signing ceremony.
KONI has allocated Rp 1 billion in bonuses for gold medalists,
and Rp 500 million and Rp 250 million respectively for silver and
bronze medalists.