RI shuttlers get a place to practice in Atlanta
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's badminton team has secured a training venue in Atlanta, U.S., for use during the Olympic Games.
Lutfi Hamid, who led an advance team from the Badminton Association of Indonesia to the Georgia city, said yesterday that the badminton stadium lies 25 kilometers from the athletes' village.
"It's quite far from the village, but transportation is not a problem because the organizers will provide shuttle buses," he said.
Hamid said that Denmark had also leased a badminton stadium, 65 kilometers away from the village. "It shows that Denmark is poised to grab medals in badminton and we have to be ready for their challenge," he said.
He said it was quite difficult to find a badminton venue because the sport is not popular in the United States.
Hamid complained that the training venue's ceiling is on the low side. "And it's also hot inside," he said when attending a best athletes award presentation held by Kompas daily yesterday.
The badminton competition in this year's Olympics will be held at the Georgia Tech indoor stadium. Hamid said he is satisfied with the stadium, which has a high ceiling and is equipped with an air conditioner.
Badminton made its Olympic debut in 1992, when Indonesia grabbed its first gold medals ever thanks to Susi Susanti in the women's singles and Alan Budikusuma in the men's singles.
Indonesian shuttlers, buoyant after their Thomas Cup and Uber Cup successes in Hong Kong last month, will again face strong opposition from China, South Korea and Denmark.
Hamid said that the weather in Atlanta, which reaches 34 Celsius degrees, will give an advantage to Asian players.
Kompas, the country's leading daily, presented awards to national athletes, coaches and sports officials as a part of its 31st birthday celebration on Friday.
Utut
Indonesia's number one chess player, grandmaster Utut Adianto, was named the best male athlete. Utut, who is still playing in the Asia-Pacific inter-city chess tournament in Dubai, was awarded a cash bonus of Rp 4,000,000 (US$1,680).
The country's female archery team, comprising Nurfitriyana Lantang, Damanhuri sisters Dahliana and Hamdiah, was voted the best sportswomen. They received Rp 3,000,000 each.
The three archers will represent the country at the upcoming Olympics. In the 1988 Games, the trio of Nurfitriyana, Lilies Handayani and Purnama Pandiangan grabbed Indonesia's first ever silver medal.
Eka Putra Wirya, an official of the Indonesian Chess Association and Utut's manager, was named the best sporting prime mover and given a Rp 4,000,000-cash bonus.
The best coach award went to archery trainers Daniel Lumalesil and Adang Adjidji who received Rp 3,000,000 and trophies each. (yan)