Susi saluted as she decides to hang up her racket for good
Susi saluted as she decides to hang up her racket for good
JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI)
official in charge of athlete development acknowledged on
Thursday that none of the current crop of Indonesian players
showed the skills of longtime champion Susi Susanti.
"I have yet to see any newcomers who have Susi's outstanding
talent. PBSI needs to work harder to search for talented
players," Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar said.
Susi, who will officially retire at an exhibition on Saturday,
was the 1992 Olympic singles gold medalist and 1996 Olympic
bronze medalist in an illustrious career. Her husband Alan
Budikusuma won the men's singles gold in Atlanta.
Siregar said Susi's retirement should be the wake-up call for
Indonesian sports to seek new talent.
"With Susi's farewell match on Saturday, we hope the sports
community will be motivated to develop more champions. Otherwise
our sports world will collapse.
"Other countries are becoming more advanced in developing
their sports. If we remain indifferent to our development, we
will crash."
Siregar said Susi was a true professional in her complete
dedication to her sport.
"She became a champion because she wanted to. Her personality,
character and way of life reflected what we call the real
Indonesian sportswoman. If she receives rewards for her world
class achievements, then it's only because she deserves them."
Siregar said PBSI kept thorough documentation of Susi's
playing style but it remained to be seen whether her game, which
relied on her speed and court coverage, was suitable for young
players.
"Susi has speed and agility. We saw how she would often slip
during a match yet she was never injured. It was just that it
always left my heart in my mouth," he said with a laugh.
Siregar attributed much of Susi's success to her parents'
strong support from her childhood.
"We must not forget the role of Susi's parents because they
were the ones who recognized her potential. Her first club in
Tasikmalaya, West Java, also played a key role in her career.
While PBSI and the Jaya Raya club were left to merely sharpen her
talent."
Siregar slammed the government for not extending fitting
appreciation to the nation's athletes.
"Why should it be PBSI and the media who put on a tribute to
Susi and Alan? It's stated in section six of the State Guidelines
that the government should appreciate athletes' performances and
it states the ways to express the appreciation."
Susi and Alan will say farewell to the game in an exhibition
jointly organized by PBSI, private television station RCTI and
the print media including The Jakarta Post.
They will play mixed doubles against Hermawan Susanto, the
1992 Olympics bronze medalist, and his wife Sarwendah
Kusumawardhani, both now retired. Susi and Alan will also auction
their rackets to raise funds for refugees in strife-hit areas of
the country.
The exhibition will be preceded by a singles match between
Taufik Hidayat and Hariyanto Arbi. Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan
will meet Ricky Subagja and Flandy Limpele in a men's doubles
match. Flandy is a replacement for Ricky's usual partner Rexy
Mainaky, who will be in England preparing to assume coaching
duties there.
Singer Ruth Sahanaya and comedians Dono and Indro are
scheduled to entertain at the event, which will be broadcast by
RCTI on Nov. 7.
Tickets costing Rp 5,000 (73 U.S. cents) are available at
Senayan Badminton Hall on Jl. Asia Afrika, Central Jakarta. (yan)