Mia has tough lesson for former teammates

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).