Three gold medals expected from badminton in Olympics

JAKARTA (JP): The Badminton Association of Indonesia is targeting three gold medals at the next Olympics in Sydney in the year 2000.

Fritz E. Simanjuntak, a sociologist and sports observer, said at the "Prepare for the 2000 Olympics" discussion organized by Raket magazine on Saturday that Indonesia hopes to win the men's and women's singles and the men's doubles in the quadrennial event.

"We have a lot of potential shuttlers to help make the dream come true," he said.

A Raket poll indicated that the public are pinning their hopes on Haryanto Arby, Olympic silver medalist Mia Audina and the team of gold medalists Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky.

The only senior shuttler picked by the public was Susi Susanti, the 1992 Olympics gold medalist. Lydia Djaelawidjaja and Meiluawati were not picked.

The 1992 gold medalist Alan Budikusuma, Susi's fiance, Joko Suprianto, Ardy B Wiranata and Hermawan Susanto were also out of the running in the public's eyes.

Indonesia won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the last Games, all in badminton. The results were disappointing compared to the 1992 Games, where Indonesia took home two golds, two silvers and one bronze.

Chief editor of Raket and the weekly football tabloid Bola Sumohadi Marsis said that the association must show courage and set a target.

"So far, the association has been very hesitant about setting a target because it's afraid of criticism," he said.

Sumohadi said that not having an exact target gives the association excuses for its failure.

Fritz, who is also an official of the National Sports Council, urged the government to start prioritizing badminton, the only hope in the Olympics, by establishing a national project and providing funds for it.

"The government should subsidize at least one third of the project," he said.

Fritz predicted that the association would need Rp 1.8 billion (US$763,000) per year for athlete development. The government is expected to provide Rp 600 million, he said.

"It's time for the association to focus its attention on international successes. The government can help by popularizing badminton in schools and youth clubs," he said.

He also said that the association must stage post-tournament evaluations not only for players but also for officials.

"Officials always say that the players were not ready, the players were under pressure. It's always the players. When do officials start being criticized?" he said.

"The best way to find out what the shuttlers think is to ask them to fill in questionnaires so they don't have to speak," he added.

Fritz also urged the association to start sending coaches abroad for refresher courses.

"They need to open their minds about many things. Maybe we can send them to the U.S. or Europe or China, just to see their training programs and facilities," he said.

The discussion, which involved around 80 people, also featured the International Badminton Federation representative Justian Suhandinata and former shuttler Rudy Hartono. (yan)