seawell
05-26-2006, 06:47 PM
World champions Nova Widhiyanto and Lilyana Natsir, and coach Richard Mainaky, on Thursday received cars from their badminton club Tangkas in recognition of their international achievements.
State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Adhyaksa Dault and club owner Justian Suhandinata presented the Hundyai Matrix cars to the players and Suzuki APV to the coach at the club's headquarters in West Jakarta.
Nova and Lilyana, Asia's number one mixed doubles team, will defend their title at the World Championships in Madrid in September.
"We are very proud and happy to receive the cars. We really appreciate our club's recognition of our hard work," said a beaming 21-year-old Lilyana after the ceremony.
Nova said they were confident about defending their title, though he acknowledged it would not be easy.
"The competition will be tougher this year. We have at least three strong contenders from China, England and Korea.
"But I think we are much more prepared because we have been training longer and harder," he said.
Minister Adhyaksa said the government recognized that badminton was the national sport and therefore deserved a bigger budget.
"I have met with the chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association, Sutiyoso, to discuss necessary actions, including allocating more money to improve the national badminton team's achievements," he said.
Indonesian badminton has hit a rough period of late, with the men's Thomas Cup team only managing to reach the semifinals in the recent event and the women's Uber Cup team failing to qualify for the finals.
The gifts given to Nova and Lilyana come after Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat received various bonuses for his achievements, including a 320-square-meter plot of land from Sutiyoso, who is also the governor of Jakarta. -- JP/Damar Harsanto
State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Adhyaksa Dault and club owner Justian Suhandinata presented the Hundyai Matrix cars to the players and Suzuki APV to the coach at the club's headquarters in West Jakarta.
Nova and Lilyana, Asia's number one mixed doubles team, will defend their title at the World Championships in Madrid in September.
"We are very proud and happy to receive the cars. We really appreciate our club's recognition of our hard work," said a beaming 21-year-old Lilyana after the ceremony.
Nova said they were confident about defending their title, though he acknowledged it would not be easy.
"The competition will be tougher this year. We have at least three strong contenders from China, England and Korea.
"But I think we are much more prepared because we have been training longer and harder," he said.
Minister Adhyaksa said the government recognized that badminton was the national sport and therefore deserved a bigger budget.
"I have met with the chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association, Sutiyoso, to discuss necessary actions, including allocating more money to improve the national badminton team's achievements," he said.
Indonesian badminton has hit a rough period of late, with the men's Thomas Cup team only managing to reach the semifinals in the recent event and the women's Uber Cup team failing to qualify for the finals.
The gifts given to Nova and Lilyana come after Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat received various bonuses for his achievements, including a 320-square-meter plot of land from Sutiyoso, who is also the governor of Jakarta. -- JP/Damar Harsanto