Parents bank on success of offspring
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
At Asia-Africa Badminton Sports Hall in Central Jakarta, schoolchildren from around the city showed their budding prowess on court.
In the stands sat several parents, cheering on their offspring, perhaps hoping that the event would be a stepping stone to a full-fledged career.
Scoot over, soccer moms -- here come badminton parents with great expectations.
"Are you a photojournalist? Come on, take a picture of my kid. Put her in the paper," a woman in her mid-40s said rather insistently to The Jakarta Post.
"My daughter has won many tournaments. She was runner up in the last tournament she took part in Cirebon (West Java)," she added, pointing to a girl watching a match with her friend in the upper stand.
The mother, Sulastri, a housewife, wants the child to make it to the top, following in the footsteps of champions Verawati Fadjrin from the 1980s and Susy Susanti from the 1990s.
Her daughter, Mega Cahya, 12, is one of the schoolchildren from about 40 elementary and junior high schools taking part in the ongoing Milo-Yonex School Badminton Competition (MYSBC).
The event, which ends on Saturday, is the first of five tournaments to be held through April this year in five cities: Bogor, Padang, Malang and Manado are the other venues.
Organized since 2002 under the auspices of the education ministry, the annual competition is hoped to help spark a resurgence in the country's flagging badminton fortunes.
However, the tournament has drawn little interest. Dahlan, an official of the Jakarta office of the education ministry, said there were more than 2,500 elementary and junior high schools in the capital.
About the small turnout, he said: "Not many schools have badminton. We invited 75 schools but only 40 participated."
Competition may be thin on the ground, but it has not curbed the enthusiasm of Sulastri, who said she wanted her daughter to be the next Susy.
Mega could only smile in response.
Creating a champion of tomorrow is not cheap; Mega's practice sessions and fees for Tangkas Bogasari, one of the country's top clubs, run to Rp 2.5 million a month.
Her husband's wages as an elementary schoolteacher are not sufficient, and the main source of support is a boardinghouse Sulastri established.
Still, Sulastri keeps detailed accounts of her expenditure on her daughter.
"It's just in case Mega is a success in the future, I may be curious to recount how much I spent on building her up."
Odeles Kirawan, father of Putra Eka Roma, is not as forward about his 10-year-old son's talent as Sulastri. Once asked, however, he quickly lists his achievements.
"He won the Jakarta championship last year," he said of the boy, who is a member of top club Jaya Raya.
Imelda Wiguna, head of the talent-scouting team of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI), said they were always on the lookout for talented youngsters, but clubs were still most important in spotting potential.
"What we can do is try to get in touch with the clubs, so that they feel motivated in honing the talent of young shuttlers."
Not everybody believes badminton will lead to a better future.
Susy, in an interview with The Jakarta Post last month, said many parents were reluctant to let their children take up the sport as a career because there was no guarantee of government support upon retirement.
Try telling that to Sulastri.