Shuttler Taufik criticizes PBSI over sponsorship deal

JAKARTA (JP): Rising badminton star Taufik Hidayat has criticized the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) for skimming off 50 percent of a sponsorship deal he recently signed with a Japan-based electronic company.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a media conference on Friday Taufik said the association's cut was too much. He claimed the association was "doing nothing to get sponsorship deals".

"I got the contract in cooperation with International Management Group (IMG). PBSI didn't do anything to help. Now, just when I'm about to get the money, they take 50 percent of it," he said.

"If PBSI got the deal in the first place, I wouldn't have minded them taking 50 percent or more. But for an individual sponsorship deal, 50 percent is too much. I think the ideal figure is only 25 percent."

Taufik was appointed by JVC Asia Pte Ltd for advertising and promotional purposes in Asia for an unknown fee. However, IMG representative James White said "it is a satisfactory figure for the three parties of JVC, PBSI and Taufik."

PBSI secretary general Leo Chandra Wiranata, who also attended the conference, said that the association suffered a Rp 6 billion (US$706,000) deficit this year due to lower interest earned on money deposited in banks.

"This year we have to spend Rp 11 billion to send athletes abroad for international tournaments and to finance the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta. About Rp 5 billion was taken from bank interest while Rp 6 billion had to be taken from the deposit itself."

"We are trying to seek more collective sponsorships deals worth $300,000 per year. We are still negotiating with an airline company."

"These considerations are the basic reason why we are taking 50 percent of our athletes' individual sponsorship deals starting from now. We are lacking in new deals."

Leo hoped that many companies, including JVC, would negotiate collective sponsorship deals with PBSI.

PBSI enjoys a $1.1 million annual contract with Japan-based Yonex sport equipment manufacturer. Fifty percent of this amount goes to players while the rest is for PBSI and its provincial chapters nationwide.

Leo said shuttlers should invite PBSI in on their individual sponsorship deals because the association did not want them to be treated unfairly by sponsors.

"In our past experiences, many athletes have had to swallow their disappointment as they didn't understand at all how to deal with sponsors. We want to protect them from that possibility occurring again," he said.

JVC and IMG also announced that starting this year, all JVC Asian Badminton Rankings champions would each receive $1,000. The champions will be determined two weeks prior to the JVC Asian Badminton Championships at the Senayan Tennis Indoor Stadium from Nov. 1 to Nov. 5. (yan)