MJIO tournament hosts record nine countries

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The MILO Junior Indonesia Open (MJIO) 2003 will kick off in Yogyakarta next month with a record nine participating countries comprising around 100 athletes, said organizers here on Wednesday.

The nine countries are Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Wales and Indonesia.

Only two foreign countries participated when the competition was first held in Surakarta, Central Java, in 2001. The following year in Surabaya, East Java, had six visiting teams.

The 2003 tournament, which will be staged at the Amongrogo Sports Hall from Aug. 5 to Aug. 9, also sees an increase in cash prizes from US$10,000 last year to $11,000.

Malaysia, regarded as one of the strongest teams in the badminton world, will not send its players this time around due to domestic commitments.

The organizers might also have to wait another year for China to make its inaugural showing as its national badminton association has declined to attend, citing problems associated with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

"It's deplorable that China won't come. The recent outbreak of SARS has prompted the grounding of the players in their respective towns. And the association told us it was not easy to communicate with them for their immediate reassembly because of their remote locations," Mien Susanti, the chairwoman of the organizing committee, told a media conference here on Wednesday.

SARS, in fact, has also prompted the rescheduling of the MJIO 2003 from July to the current date.

"Malaysia has its own tournament on the same date," said Mien, from PT Gematama Kreasindo, the event coorganizer with PT Nestle Indonesia.

Among the foreign participants, Japan and Korea will come with 12 players each, while Belgium, the Netherlands and Wales will be participating each with one player.

Mien, the daughter of former Indonesian badminton star and tournament founder Minarni Sudaryanto, who died in May, said that Indonesian contenders would be made up of those from the national training center, more than a dozen local badminton clubs and winners of the school badminton league.