Milo event scouts future shuttlers among schools

Milo event scouts future shuttlers among schools

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Around 600 elementary school students will take part in the
School Badminton Championships beginning on Friday, with the
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) hoping that the drive
will give the nation more young badminton talents.

The competition, sponsored by PT Nestle Indonesia and Yonex,
will be staged in five select major cities in Java and Sumatra
and will involve 60 elementary schools.

Aksa Mahmud, who is in charge of development affairs at PBSI,
said the association expected future athletes to emerge from the
competition.

"Hopefully, they will form the next generation of shuttlers,
which will bear the task of defending our supremacy in the
badminton world," he said here on Monday.

The week-long opening series of the competition, which has
adopted the round-robin format, will commence on Friday in
Bandung, West Java.

The next series are scheduled from Jan. 24 to Jan. 31 in
Pekanbaru, Riau; from Mar. 13 to Mar. 20 in Surakarta, Central
Java; from Apr. 11 to Apr. 17 in Palembang, South Sumatra; and
from Apr. 19 to Apr. 25 in Denpasar, Bali.

The winners from each series will qualify for the finals,
which will be staged from May 9 to 15 in Bandung.

The champions will be given a chance to participate in the
Milo Junior Indonesia Open, the successful contenders of which
might be given a slot at the national training center.

A number of the current national badminton front-runners are
past winners of the Milo Junior Indonesia Open, including Sony
Dwi Kuncoro, the two-time Asian champion and gold medalist at the
recent 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, and Indonesia's rising
stars Simon Santosa, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan.

Finalist Silvi Antarini of the 2003 Asian Cup, along with Siti
Mahiroh and Maria Kristin, also began their careers at the Milo
tourney.

Mien Susanti, chairman of the organizing committee, said the
winners of each category would receive a cash prize of Rp 800,000
(US$94.12), while second place would receive Rp 550,000 and third
place, Rp 450,000.

Brata T. Hardjosubroto, head of public relations at PT Nestle
Indonesia, said the organizers would also award scholarships to
series' winners.

The winners' schools would also receive funds to refurbish
their sports facilities.