Mia says marriage will make her life steady
Mia says marriage will make her life steady
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's top female badminton player, Mia
Audina, believes her planned marriage to her boyfriend this year
will create stability in her life, ending the turbulent ups and
downs she has experienced in her career and her life.
"Married people usually live peacefully and I hope that all
the gossip about my relationship with my boyfriend will die down
once we marry," Mia said after a practice session at the National
Badminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta, on Wednesday.
However, Mia, who turns 29 on Aug. 22, denied that she had set
a Feb. 26 date for her wedding with her boyfriend, Dutch gospel
singer Tylio Lobman.
"We will have our wedding service in the Netherlands before or
after the general election in June. That is our plan. We don't
even know if we can hold a wedding celebration here (in
Indonesia)," she said.
The executive chairman of the Badminton Association of
Indonesia, Karsono, said on Tuesday that Mia would marry Lobman
on Feb. 26. Mia is scheduled to play in the 1998 Grand Prix
Finals in Bandar Seri Begawan around that date.
Lobman shares Mia's views on the planned marriage, saying that
both of them hope to create a stable life that will help them
focus on their respective careers.
"This year is the right time for us to marry because we don't
think living in the public eye for so long is good for us," said
Lobman, whose mother is of Javanese descent.
Lobman is preparing a solo album which is expected to be
released later this month. Indonesian pop composer and musician
Dodo Zakaria is collaborating with him on the album.
Mia, her career on the rise after helping Indonesia win its
second straight Uber Cup title, met Lobman in a South Jakarta
church in mid-1997. Since then, the love struck pair has been
inseparable, with Lobman always accompanying Mia to her badminton
competitions.
Their romance, however, drew a barrage of criticism because of
a slump in form suffered by Mia. Her world ranking dropped from
number three to 11.
Her victory at the Indonesia Open last November, thanks in
part to the absence of the world's best players, ended a 22-month
title drought. Less than one month later, she lost to South
Korean rivals ranked below her in both the team and individual
events at the Asian Games in Bangkok.
The rumors took a malicious turn when a Jakarta tabloid
recently reported that Mia might be pregnant. A sobbing Mia
denied the report.
"After our marriage, we hope the public will no longer blame
my defeats on Tylio," she said on Wednesday.
"Indonesians love to gossip. They always had negative thoughts
every time I returned late to my dormitory after going out with
Tylio. Everybody blamed him without knowing that we had gone out
on family business," she said.
Mia said she would not retire after her marriage. She insisted
that she would qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney to
make amends for her loss in the finals at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
"God endowed me with a talent to play badminton and I mustn't
give it up. Besides, that's the only thing I can do now," she
said.
"I want to play for six or seven more years. I'll compete in
the Sudirman Cup and the World Championships this year," she
added.
Mia's marriage plan drew new criticism and questions.
National coach Liang Chiusia said she regretted Mia's
decision, although she said she would not ask her to cancel her
plans.
"I don't know anything about it. She never told me she would
get married. It's a pity. I would have suggested that she delay
her marriage because she's still too young," Chiusia said.
"As a coach, I hope that she can accomplish even more. I had
hoped that she would top the world rankings and collect a lot of
titles before getting married," she added.
Chiusia could not avoid comparing Mia to her predecessor,
former world badminton queen Susi Susanti, who retired last year
because of her pregnancy.
"Susi married in 1996 at a perfect moment after winning many
tournaments, including the 1992 Olympics. After her marriage, she
still played very well," she said.
"I'm afraid that Mia will get pregnant too young. Her career
still has a bright future. But that's her decision," she added.
(yan)