Parade for Thomas Cup heroes
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Guangzhou, China
Indonesia's champion shuttlers, who have just defended the men's team Thomas Cup badminton title here, will have a tight schedule on Wednesday in Jakarta, including a luncheon with President Megawati Soekarnoputri followed by a parade.
"The team is scheduled to have lunch with Ibu Megawati to honor its success in making history by holding the Cup five times in a row," the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) chairman, Chairul Tanjung, told reporters here on Monday before the team left this southern Chinese city.
"After the presidential luncheon, we will make a courtesy call to Governor Sutiyoso at City Hall before taking the shuttlers on a parade so the public will be able to see our sports heroes," he added.
Chairul also said that the president made a personal phone call to congratulate him and the whole team for their heroic and historic feat as soon as third singles Hendrawan won his match against Malaysian Muhammad Roslin Hashim, which decided the title.
Indonesia defeated Malaysia 3-2 after trailing 1-2 in the finals at Guangzhou's Tianhe Sports Center.
The tentative parade route is scheduled to start from City Hall on Wednesday at around 3 p.m. The team will then be driven along Jl. M.H. Thamrin, the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, down Jl. Sudirman, crossing under the Semanggi cloverleaf, making a U- turn at the Senayan traffic circle and then entering the Bung Karno Sports Complex through the Hilton Hotel gate before making a stop at the Istora Indoor Stadium.
"We will have fans gathering at the indoor stadium to allow the public to see them directly and interact with their sporting heroes," said Chairul.
When asked whether PBSI would provide a bonus for the shuttlers, Chairul said he was still gathering the money from prominent businesspeople who have an interest in sports development.
Sponsor Yonex was reported to have committed US$60,000 in bonuses if Indonesia won the Thomas Cup.
Chairul said that the seven starters on the team would receive the lion's share of the bonus. They seven are Hendrawan, Marlev Mainaky, Taufik Hidayat, Candra Wijaya, Halim Haryanto, Sigit Budiarto and Tri Kusheryanto.
He also said that the government was considering a plan to award sports heroes with special recognition for outstanding achievements.