President asks shuttlers to defend Thomas Cup

President asks shuttlers to defend Thomas Cup

Annastashya Emmanuelle and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri urged on Saturday all Indonesian
badminton players set to leave for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup
finals to do their best and give cause for some pride at home.

"I still remember when my father, president Sukarno, asked all
Indonesians to pray for our players who were competing in the
Thomas Cup," she said in an impromptu speech.

"My idols were Ferry Sonneville and Tan Joe Hok at that time.

"And now I think that we must pray again so that you will be
able to keep the Thomas Cup here," she added.

The President was speaking during a ceremony to see off the
shuttlers held at the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung,
East Jakarta.

"By defending the cup, you will be able to improve our crisis-
stricken image. I say that Indonesia's sports community must work
together to bring some glory to the country," she said.

Also present at the ceremony were the President's husband
Taufik Kiemas, national education minister Abdul Malik Fajar,
chairman of the National Sports Council (KONI) Wismoyo
Arismunandar and chairman of the Badminton Association of
Indonesia (PBSI) Chairul Tanjung.

The Indonesia team will leave on Monday for Guangzhou, China,
where the finals of both Thomas Cup and Uber Cup are to be held
from Thursday until May 19.

So far, Indonesia has won the coveted cup 12 times out of 21
contests and has taken it and defended it on four consecutive
occasions since 1994.

Indonesia will write a new page in badminton history if it can
defend it now by becoming the first country to do so on five
consecutive occasions.

Meanwhile, host China will definitely want to collect all the
three coveted cups in the world of badminton with the Thomas Cup
the only one not in its trophy case.

China is the defending champion in the women's Uber Cup, which
it won in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, and the mixed team Sudirman Cup
it won in Seville, Spain, in 2001.

During the ceremony, the PBSI also signed a collaboration
agreement with the national education ministry to reintroduce
badminton in schools.

The agreement was signed by Chairul and Malik.

When asked about the details, Malik said it would take the
form of intensifying badminton programs at schools, both as part
of extracurricular activities as well as during physical
education classes.

His ministry would assist in providing badminton equipment,
but Malik stressed that the provincial administrations would be
the ones with the most responsibility.

"In line with regional autonomy, we hope the local
administrations will be able to provide these facilities," he
told reporters.

"It (badminton) has been a part of the physical education
curriculum ... badminton could also be included as part of
extracurricular activities," he explained.

Meanwhile, Chairul said the agreement would be followed by a
ongoing collaboration between both institutions at the lower
levels to make it more successful.

"We will produce a series of manuals on how we can implement
the agreement at the lower levels. We have still a long way to go
but the most important thing is that the government is giving its
attention to badminton," he told reporters.

"But for the first step, we will hold an inter-elementary
schools tournament from the local levels right up to the national
level."

"This will enable us to scout for talent among 12 to 17 year
olds."