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)