MJIO tournament hosts record nine countries

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.