Young shuttlers to join Milo tournament

Young shuttlers to join Milo tournament

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least 600 promising badminton players from 12 countries are
expected to take part in the fourth Milo Junior Indonesia Open
that will be held in July in Medan, North Sumatra.

The fourth MJIO will be officially opened by North Sumatra
Governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin on July 21 and will run for five
days at the Pardede Sports Hall.

"This year's MJIO is expected to be more appealing than before
because the participating countries will also include those
renowned for their badminton dominance, such as China, Malaysia,
Korea and Japan," said Mien Susanti, managing director of PT
Gematama Kreasindo, the organizer of the badminton championships.

China, which canceled its participation in last year's MJIO
due to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS),
has confirmed its participation in the upcoming event.

Indonesia will send 14 promising young players to the annual
badminton event, most of whom are in the top ranks of the
badminton ratings issued by the International Badminton
Federation (IBF).

Meanwhile, Malaysia, Korea and Japan, which sent only between
six and eight players to last year's MJIO, will field more than
12 shuttlers. Other countries to take part in the event are Sri
Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong and Belgium.

"This is an indication that the MJIO does not only attract
local but also foreign players. Both local and foreign players
see the MJIO event as an important step in their future badminton
careers," she said.

Former winners of the MJIO have notched up impressive
achievements in their respective countries. For instance, Jung
Fun Ha, the first winner of the Women's Doubles at the MJIO 2003
was selected to participate in the country's badminton team for
the Uber Cup competition, which was held simultaneously with the
recent Thomas Cup.

Mien, the daughter of the late Indonesian women's badminton
star and the initiator of the Milo tournament, Minarni
Sudaryanto, said that the Indonesian participants in this year's
event would comprise promising players from the national training
camp, local badminton clubs and winners of the school badminton
league.

The players, however, would have to go through the
qualification matches that will be held on July 19 and July 20 in
Jakarta before being selected to participate in the event, which
offers a total cash prize of US$11,000 to the winners of the boys
and girls singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Compared to other world junior badminton championships, the
MJIO is the most lucrative in prize-money terms. The French
International Open, held on March of this year, for instance,
provided US$10,000 in cash prizes.

Mien said that the MJIO had been held annually since 2001 with
the objective of providing an opportunity for Indonesian under-19
badminton players to gain international match experience.

The MJIO has become an important badminton championship
eagerly awaited by Indonesian junior players. "The MJIO has been
included in the important match calenders of the IBF and the
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI)," she said.

Meanwhile, Christian Hadinata, a former Indonesian badminton
star who won a slew of trophies in his heyday in the 1970s and
1980s, highlighted the importance of the MJIO for the development
of badminton in Indonesia.

Christian, the senior couch of the Indonesian national team in
the recent Thomas Cup, said that the MJIO had shown itself
capable of producing promising and talented players.

Former tournament champions, such as Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Silvi
Antarini, Andrianti Firdasari and Simon Santoso, all went on to
record impressive achievements in their badminton careers. Sony,
for instance, got to the Thomas Cup final in 2004 and beat famous
international player Peter Gade of Denmark.

"The MJIO provides a good opportunity for local junior players
to gain international experience. Certainly, the badminton
tournament has had a good effect on the training and coaching of
young badminton players," said Christian, currently the director
of the PBSI's national training center.

Retno Kostijah, the winner of the women's doubles in the All
England badminton championships in 1968, shared Christian's view,
saying that the MJIO served as a medium for identifying new
Indonesian badminton talent.

Through the MJIO, local players could compare their skills
against those of players from other countries. "Thus, the MJIO
can provide a stimulus for players from different regions to make
further achievements in the sport," she said.

The Milo badminton championship was first held in 2001, and
was established at the initiative of former Indonesian badminton
star Minarni Sudaryanto, now deceased.

The Milo championship was established to replace the Bimantara
World Junior Badminton Tournament which was halted in 1997 due to
the country's financial crisis.

Minarni secured the involvement of PT Nestle Indonesia, the
producer of Milo, a chocolate energy drink, and the PBSI, the
country's highest badminton institution, in organizing the event

"Since 2001, Nestle Indonesia has consistently been the main
sponsor of the MJIO," Mien said.

From year to year, the MJIO has grown in terms of participant
numbers. The first MJIO, which was held in Surakarta, Central
Java in 2001, was participated in by only two foreign countries
-- Brunei Darussalam and Japan. However, more foreign countries
took part in the event in the following years.

In 2002, the MJIO was held in Surabaya, East Java, with a
total of 320 players participating, of whom 29 were foreign
players from six countries. The following year, the MJIO was held
in Yogyakarta, Central Java, with a total of 400 players
participating, of whom 100 were foreign players from eight
countries.