Mia has tough lesson for former teammates

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's badminton team in the Uber Cup women's team championship did not expect to be packing up for home so early.

More painfully was the very fact of how Indonesia's finest were gunned down by an Indonesian-born shuttler.

Tragically, it became a situation of biting the hand that once fed you.

Once regarded as Indonesia's number one female badminton player and heir apparent to the legendary Susy Susanti, Mia Audina Tjiptawan won two important points for her adopted country as the Netherlands destroyed the Indonesian team 3-2 at the Tianhe Sports Center in Guangzhou, China.

It was the second time Indonesia failed to reach the semifinals of the women's team tournament since 1984.

The fact that the Netherlands become group winners surprised many.

Their success in reaching their first ever Uber Cup semi- finals was an unexpected accomplishment.

The star of the team has to be Mia, who in Atlanta in 1996 proudly waved the red-and-white as she contributed a rare Olympics silver medal.

Mia moved to the Netherlands in 1999 following her marriage to Dutch gospel singer, Tylio Lobman.

The marriage almost immediately sparked a much publicized dispute with the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) who charged that she had failed to seek their consent before the marriage.

But in reality her migration to Europe seemed to have honed her incredible talent. No one ever doubted Mia's potential. At the tender age of 14 she was already included in the 1994 Uber Cup team.

Prior to emigrating, Mia had built up an unsavory reputation as a spoilt player.

Since her marriage, many say she has matured.

Though she might be the leading player in the Dutch team, she is certainly not the primadona of yesteryear.

Now she has to rent her own apartment, pay training fees and coaches, pay registration fees for tournaments, buy her own airline tickets, not to mention other normal chores.

It is all in stark contrast to the life she once led at the Indonesian Badminton Center dormitory in Cipayung, East Jakarta.

There, not only was she pampered with an annual contract but much of the nitty-gritty of everyday life was taken care of for her.

But Mia's case is just one snapshot of a growing, and worrying, trend of local shuttlers emigrating to other countries.

Although one of the best producers of world badminton talent, Indonesia is still losing out as an increasing number of players are jumping ship to other countries.

The reasons for this are numerous. Some seek a second chance abroad because of the stiff competition here while others are merely hired guns plying their skills to the highest bidder.

The most common reason, however, is that they earn more opportunities to compete in the Grand Prix series which will boost their world rankings and also their takings.

Mia, and men's singles Fung Permadi, who now plays for Taiwan, are just two examples.

Fung -- who seemed to have little talent compared to former team mates Ardy Bernardus Wiranata and 1992 Barcelona Olympics champion Alan Budikusuma -- even reached the 1999 World Championship final in Denmark when none of the Indonesian players could reach the semifinals.

However, the migration story has not always been smooth.

When Indonesia's wonder boy Taufik Hidayat moved to Singapore late last year, the PBSI quickly demanded the International Badminton Federation (IBF) ban the player from competing in international events.

The PBSI even demanded that the Singapore Badminton Association pay a transfer fee.

The dispute appears to have quietened down, with Taufik now back in the Thomas Cup squad. But he has yet to reveal his future plans: whether he will stay here or return to Singapore where his coach Mulyo Handoyo now works.

When the United States Badminton Association proposed to the PBSI that they be allowed to hire the 2000 Olympics gold medallist doubles player Tony Gunawan, the PBSI also raised the issue of a transfer fees.

While transfer fees are a common requirement in other sports, in the case of Indonesia the issue is relatively new.

There is also the question of whether requesting transfer fees for players emigrating to other countries is the right of the PBSI or the local clubs from which the players came from.

Given the semi-professional status of the IBF, the international body has yet to set clear regulations governing players moving to other countries.

Even the rules on representing an adopted country are vague. Officially, the IBF rules state that a player must wait three years before he or she can represent their new country. But in Mia's case, she was allowed to represent the Netherlands in less than a year.

Eventually, however, the IBF and PBSI will have to allow the players become totally professional, like in soccer, where a club from any country can buy or sell its players to another.

With the trend currently emerging, the IBF must deal with the situation to avoid disputes among its members.

Former members of the Indonesian national team who have moved to other countries: Fung Permadi (Taiwan), Ardy Bernardus Wiranata (Canada), Indra Wijaya (Singapore), Mia Audina Tjiptawan (The Netherlands), Cynthia Tuwankotta (Sweden), Carmelita (Sweden), Flandy Limpele (England), Eng Hian (England).