Parade for Thomas Cup heroes

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.