Players complain about hot stadium and scoring board
Players complain about hot stadium and scoring board
BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan (JP): Some price had to be paid
by the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) to achieve its
ambition to spread the sport throughout the country by staging
the national championship outside Java.
The local organizing committee -- unprepared to host national
events due to centralized development in the country's capital,
Jakarta -- failed to meet the basic requirements for hosting such
a big event.
Players have been complaining about the hot stadium as it is
not air-conditioned and its roof and walls are covered by metal
sheets.
"I can hardly breath in here, it's too hot. I didn't have the
opportunity to try the hall on Monday," said Yuli Marfuah of
Bandung-based SGS.
While newly-wed Candra Wijaya, a men's doubles specialist,
admitted it was hot playing in the hall, he said it would not
influence his performance.
"Every player will experience the same heat so there is no use
complaining. It will show which players have the ability to
overcome such conditions," he said.
Several exhaust fans can be seen in the roof section but
apparently none of them are working.
Luckily, rain poured down day after the opening ceremony and
made the temperature cooler inside the hall on the first day.
Speaking of the match results, officials at the championship
secretariat said they did not provide such data or any copying
facilities.
The organizers even failed to provide scoring boards for the
four courts in Hasanuddin HM Hall on Jl. Antasari making it
difficult for journalists to keep track of match results.
Journalists had to run after players to get the results or ask
permission from the judges to sneak a look at the score sheets.
"Well, I usually keep track of my scores through the score
board especially when I'm under pressure or am tired. Sometimes
we forget the score," said Hendrawan of Tangkas. "Without the
boards, we don't even know our own score."
Yuli said she had trouble keeping track of her score.
"But it didn't ruin my game because I just followed what the
umpire told me to do," she said.
Commenting on the complaints, the chairman of the organizing
committee, Lt.Col. Syahnan, who is also secretary of PBSI's South
Kalimantan chapter, humbly received all criticism and was open to
any suggestion.
"I have to admit that there are a lot of problems but be
assured that we have tried our best in preparing the event. Well,
this is what we have here," he said. "Organizing a big event
offers a precious occasion to improve our work."
"I even slept here before the opening ceremony when we had to
fix a problem with thicker plywood."
Syahnan, who is Pelaihari Military District Commander, also
said Banjarmasin had hosted two badminton events prior to the
national championship.
"Earlier, we organized the qualifying rounds for the National
Games (PON) and the Bina Benua Cup. We learned a lot from our
past experiences."
Commenting on the score board, Syahanan said they would be
installed on Friday for the quarterfinals and semifinals matches.
The final match will take place on Saturday. (nvn)