New PBSI board set up in two weeks

New PBSI board set up in two weeks

Eva C. Komandjaja and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

With the Jakarta governor holding chairmanship of the
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), the association's new
executive board is expected to be finalized within two weeks.

Sutiyoso was appointed PBSI chairman for the 2004-2008 term
over media tycoon Dahlan Iskan at an extraordinary meeting on
Saturday. The governor replaces Chairul Tanjung, who was forced
to resign because of national players' poor performance during
his tenure.

Sutiyoso, whose new post has prompted him to relinquish
another at the Indonesian Basketball Association, will be
assisted by a special committee of five regional representatives:
Koesdarto Pramono for Yogyakarta, H.M. Fahriadi for South
Kalimantan, Syahfrizal Ucok for West Sumatra and Mustafa Djide
for South Sulawesi/eastern Indonesia.

Sutiyoso is mulling over the right candidate for PBSI
secretary-general position, who follows the chairman in rank and
responsibility.

"I will choose a person that we can count on... If possible, I
will make a selection from a shortlist of those who have been
with PBSI," he said on Tuesday, adding that he already had two
candidates in mind, but could not yet disclose their names.

Sutiyoso is also considering trimming the association's daily
costs by paring down the central board.

For the last few years, PBSI officials have been complaining
about the lack of funds for sending national shuttlers --
particularly junior athletes -- to overseas tournaments.

In turn, players' inexperience in regional and international
meets has been blamed for Indonesia's dismal performance.

While indicating that more opportunities would given to
players, Sutiyoso said the PBSI would be more selective in
recruiting athletes to the national training camp.

"There are simply too many of them right now. If they are not
able to meet the training camp requirements, they must train in
their regions first, so our spending can be controlled," he said.