The Christian Science Monitor July 15, 2008 Beyond shuttlecocks and makeshift courts, an archipelago nation’s craze – and glory – raises hopes, pressure, and the intensity of neighborhood games. By Oakley Brooks It’s badminton season in Indonesia. In my northern Sumatra neighborhood, centered around a stuccoed mosque, the teenagers have abandoned the ping-pong table they’d gathered around most afternoons and strung up a net across a narrow lane between two houses’ corrugated plastic roofs. The games have been ferocious, with residents emerging from their small concrete homes around the court to watch. At one game, a stoic-looking grandmother in her pajamas pulls up a chair. Moms settle in with babies in slings. Packs of grade-schoolers peer through a low wrought-iron fence. Motorbikes and cars ease into the surrounding yards, spilling out new fans. Me, I keep hitting the ratty shuttlecock onto the roof. I tell the other players, “This racket you gave me is missing a few strings.” Still, I have shoes on and they don’t. I get relegated to the front, by the net, to mop up the other team’s drop shots and mis-hits. But thanks to my partner’s overhead smash – the shot we picnic badmintoners in the West have yet to learn – we prevail over some other neighborhood ruffians. Twice. “Why are we playing badminton?” I ask. “Thomas Cup,” my partner says. The world team championships have just finished in Jakarta, with Indonesia bowing out in the semifinals of the men’s competition and the finals of the women’s. The Chinese have taken home both golds. Everyone here picks up a shuttlecock after the worlds: It’s like Americans swarming the driving range after the Masters. Next month, Indonesia will send 11 shuttlers – half of its Olympic delegation to Beijing – to snatch back some glory. Badminton, after all, is Indonesia’s sport. No country is more decorated from world competitions since World War II (after which Indonesia sent the Dutch colonists packing, but kept the European import of badminton). And despite being 230 million strong, Indonesia is feeble in almost every other sport. The game is cheap, playable anytime, anywhere, at any speed, by anyone. Net and shoes are optional. And that’s helped bulutangkis, as Indonesians call badminton, to seep into the dense, warrenlike neighborhoods that nearly everyone in the archipelago calls home. So Indonesia awaits the Beijing Olympics, with bated breath and lightweight racket in hand. “This sport still belongs to the people, not just the top athletes,” says Tono Sasongko, a senior coach at Jaya Raya, a top badminton club in Jakarta that has produced a slew of Olympians and world champions. Inside Jaya Raya’s sweltering gymnasium on a recent afternoon, some of Mr. Tono’s best young boys chase birdies across the rubber floor. Part of a network of more than 30 clubs nationwide that feed talent to the national team, Jaya Raya youngsters work out for seven hours daily, up to six days a week. And they start young. Ten-year-old Lilyana plops down in a chair next to Tono. She started working out here using a sawed-off racket at age 5. Earlier this year, she won the singles and doubles competitions for her age group at the international Singapore Open. “My dream is the Olympics,” she says. A picture of her idol, Mia Aulina, a Jaya Raya alum and Olympic silver medalist, hangs behind her on a wall of fame that stretches back to Indonesia’s greatest legend, Rudy Hartono. The place drips with history – and sweat. The lack of air conditioning has made Indonesian athletes tougher, says Tono, and has wilted the great European players who come to challenge Jaya Raya’s best. While I mop my brow, youngsters walk by and clasp Tono’s hand to their foreheads. “All the parents here, they want international accomplishment for their kids,” Tono says. And, in fact, families ring the court, looking on expectantly as children dart across the floor. “That’s actually what we look at when kids come here: What’s the spirit of the parents like? Talent can be trained.” Everyone seems to have a theory about why the national team has been down in recent years, failing to win a single team championship since 2002. Lack of spirit is near the top of that list. The players lost focus, people say. Maybe the country put too much pressure on its athletes. Or the crowds have been too lackluster. Says one recreational player in Jakarta, “I think God has given the Chinese some more privilege.” Out at the national team’s training center, tucked away in a Jakarta suburb, head coach Christian Hadinata looks on as his athletes swat shuttlecocks and he remembers the days of “Badminton Fever,” which reached its height in the late 1960s and ’70s. Indonesia was a young, restless nation, and in 1967, badminton fans rallied so intensely around the national team and its emerging star, Mr. Rudy, that international officials penalized Indonesia for interfering with play – and eventually handed the Thomas Cup to Malaysia. Mr. Christian grew up listening to Thomas Cup broadcasts on his family radio in Perkerwerto in Central Java, where kids would fashion rackets out of solid wood, and birdies from chicken feathers. “I still remember the sound of the birdie on the wood – tahook!” Christian recalls. Just before the match began, beloved radio announcer Om (“Uncle”) Sambas would ask “for the support and prayers of the people of Indonesia.” A decade later Christian had that mantra ringing in his ears before his first serve for the national team at the Thomas Cup. He, Rudy, and Indonesia won all five of the team championships in the 1970s. “It was amazing all the support we generated with just this little racket,” Christian says. “We weren’t playing for any prize money. Just prestige. I still get recognized out on the street.” He still wears the helmet of thick hair he had as a young player, and he’s fit enough to keep up with the junior national team players in games every morning at the training center. But even Christian realizes history can weigh heavily on his players. “It’s considered unusual now if we lose at big competitions,” he says. Down on the court below him at the national-team center, the athletes swat birdies under several banners from the top national cigarette brand that proclaim, “This is Indonesia, Mister. We have to be champions.” “I’m trying to just block out the distractions and concentrate on playing my best,” says Liliyana Natsir, who is ranked No. 1 in the world in mixed doubles with partner Nova Widianto. And distractions abound: Ms. Liliyana says the badminton association has made a habit of setting expectations for how far she’ll go in international tournaments – a practice that can turn against her. “Sometimes it acts like a boomerang,” she says. There is at least one thing that bodes well for Indonesia’s Olympic performance: the men’s singles and doubles finals fall on the weekend of Indonesian Independence Day, Aug. 17. “We feel the pressure, but we will also feel the spirit of Indonesians out there,” says Markis Kido, part of Indonesia’s top men’s doubles duo. Out on the court, laughter still rings out, as the men’s doubles players practice flicking back birdies that coaches have dropped impossibly close to the net. They’re the same cackles I heard a few nights earlier from a men’s recreational group in a mosquito-infested gym across town. And then there were the two young brothers and Jaya Raya trainees, ages 7 and 12, who laughed as they leapt around the lawn outside the club, keeping their birdie alive. It started as a simple game in the street. And in some ways, it always will be: The stakes have gotten higher, but the pure thrill of a neighborhood game is never far away. The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
For our badminton friends in the West, badminton was and still is played outdoors with very basic equipment in most parts of Indonesia. This was the same environment the great players of the past like Master Tang, Rudy Hutano, Tan Joe Hock, Ferry Sonneville, Wong Peng Soon (Malaya then), grew up with.
Absolutely, INA Olympic glorious only depends on badminton contribution. Don't see any chance to bag gold in other disciplines where INA will send its athletes to Beijing Games such as fencing, sailing, shooting, athletics, swimming and weightlifting.
If I'm not mistaken, a PABBSI (Indonesia Weightlifting Association) said we have a chance, although very-very small, to grab a gold...
Indonesian badminton squad preparing their strategies.. ..as reported from bolanews.com (i'll just translate a few of the comments from the players/coaches).. http://www.bolanews.com/edisi-cetak/bultang.htm ========================================================== Atur Strategi Setelah Drawing Hasil pengundian cabang bulutangkis pada Olimpiade Beijing 2008, Agustus, telah dirilis. Tim Bulutangkis Indonesia untuk Olimpiade kini telah mulai menentukan strategi apa yang akan digunakan dalam Olimpiade di Negeri Tirai Bambu itu. Secara keseluruhan Indonesia berada dalam posisi yang cukup baik. Dari lima nomor yang dipertandingkan, Tim Merah Putih dapat melewati babak-babak awal meskipun harus berjuang keras. “Semua lawan harus diwaspadai. Ini Olimpiade, jadi semua pesaing tidak boleh dianggap ringan. Perlawanan yang akan mereka berikan juga pasti berbeda jika dibandingkan dengan seri dunia lainnya,” ujar Christian Hadinata selaku pelatih kepala. "All opponents must be taken seriously. This is the Olympics, thus all of the opponents can't be taken lightly. Their level of play will definitely be different than what they've shown in the other super series", quipped Christian H. “Hasil drawing memang membuat peserta dari negara yang mengirimkan dua perwakilan berada di pool yang berbeda. Semua itu memang telah dibuat sedemikian rupa agar rekan senegara bertemu pada babak final,” tutur Christian menanggapi tentang undian yang dilakukan pada Sabtu (26/7). Regarding the draws, coach Christian said "The outcome of the draws definitely resulted in 2 players, coming from the same country, ending up in different halves. All of those are planned so both players will eventually meet in the Final". Yang pasti, para pebulutangkis dan pelatih sudah mengetahui siapa saja calon lawan pada partai pertama dan siapa yang menjadi kemungkinan lawan di babak selanjutnya. Menurut Christian, setelah hasil undian, para pelatih diharapkan akan mulai menyiapkan strategi apa saja yang akan digunakan untuk menghadapi lawan para anak didiknya, baik fisik maupun mental. “Semua pertandingan harus dilewati satu per satu. Yang paling penting adalah kondisi harus tetap dijaga karena stamina yang fit dan permainan dengan strategi yang baik menjadi salah satu kunci keberhasilan,” kata Christian. "All of the matches must be played one at a time. The most important are, the (physical) condition must be watched because a fit stamina and a good game strategy are one of the keys to success", noted Christian. Peluang Tunggal Putri Jika di empat nomor lainnya Indonesia diwakili dua pemain, maka di tunggal putri hanya Maria Kristin yang menjadi satu-satunya wakil Merah Putih. Di babak pertama, Maria akan menghadapi Juliane Schenk dari Jerman. “Schenk cukup bagus. Yang pasti, Maria harus bermain serius dan tetap tidak boleh memandang enteng lawan,” ujar Christian. Regarding Maria Kristin's 1st round opponent, Christian said "Schenk is quite good. For sure, Maria must play with seriousness and can't underestimate her opponent". Meskipun begitu, Christian tetap merasa optimistis melihat peluang yang dimiliki Maria. Sebabnya, semua bisa saja terjadi. Tergantung mental para pemain nanti dalam menghadapi tekanan. (cw-2) Pasca Drawing Rileks, Tapi Konsentrasi Pasangan ganda putra nomor satu dunia Markis Kido dan Hendra Setiawan akan langsung menghadapi pasangan nomor delapan dunia Guo Zhendong dan Xie Zhongbo yang berasal dari Cina berdasarkan drawing pada Sabtu (26/7). Bagi Markis Kido, hasil ini merupakan sesuatu yang baik. “Hasil yang ada memang seperti itu adanya. Persiapan yang saya lakukan pun tidak berubah. Bahkan kini saya lebih rileks,” ungkap Kido. Regarding Markis Kido and his preparation, he said "This is what we've been drawn against. The preparation which i'm doing hasn't changed. As a matter of fact, i'm more relaxed". “Lawan kami memang bagus, terlebih lagi mereka adalah tuan rumah. Yang jelas apapun hasilnya nanti, semua ini harus dijalani untuk menjadi yang terbaik,” kata Kido. "Our opponents are good, in addition to them being the host. No matter what the results will be, we have to go through all of this to become the best", said Kido. Sepertinya pebulutangkis yang berusia 23 tahun ini semakin percaya diri menjelang Olimpiade. Semua itu tidak lepas dari bimbingan yang diberikan sang pelatih, Sigit Pamungkas dan sesi sharing yang diberikan oleh tim psikolog Olimpiade setiap dua kali seminggu. Jika Kido terbilang sangat rileks menjelang Olimpiade ini, maka hal yang sama juga dirasakan Sony Dwi Kuncoro. “Semua persiapan yang dilakukan Sony sudah sangat bagus, yang penting kini dia harus konsentrasi dalam bertanding dan tidak memikirkan yang lain,” ujar Hendrawan. Regarding Sony's preparation, his coach Hendrawan said "All of the preparation done by Sony has been very good. The most important right now is he must concentrate on competing and can't have any other distractions in his mind". Persiapan yang dilakukan sudah cukup. Yang pasti, bagaimana aksi mereka di lapangan. Siapa yang lebih siap pastilah menjadi yang terbaik. Tidak hanya dari teknik, tapi juga dari mental para pemain. “Para atlet yang mengikuti Olimpiade merupakan yang terbaik. Tekanan dan atmosfer yang dirasakan tentu tidak sama. Yang penting sekarang bagaimana Sony bisa bertanding dengan konsentrasi penuh dan rileks,” kata Hendrawan. "All the athletes who are competing in the Olympics are the best. The pressure and atmosphere, which are felt, are not the same. The most important now is how will Sony compete with full concentration and at the same time, relaxed". (cw-2)
Taufik has resumed his training.. ..as mentioned earlier by Ningtyas...Essentially, Taufik has resumed his training & preparation for the upcoming Olympics. What he feels about his chances. But he's definitely aware of his physical fitness level. (I'll just translate the players' comments.) http://www.antara.co.id/arc/2008/7/30/taufik-hidayat-sudah-jalani-program-latihan/ ========================================================== 30/07/08 16:11 Taufik Hidayat Sudah Jalani Program Latihan Jakarta (ANTARA NeWs) - Peraih medali emas Olimpiade Athena 2004 Taufik Hidayat, yang baru saja sembuh dari sakit demam berdarah, sudah kembali ke program latihan semula untuk menghadapi Olimpiade Beijing 2008 yang berlangsung bulan depan. "Sejak kemarin (Selasa, 29/6) saya sudah kembali ke program latihan secara penuh," ujar Taufik, usai menjalani latihan di Pelatnas Bulutangkis Cipayung, Jakarta Timur, Rabu. "I've resumed my full training program since yesterday (Tuesday 29/6)" said Taufik, after concluding a training session in Cipayung, Wednesday. Peringkat kesembilan dunia tersebut mulai berlatih kembali pada Senin (28/7) setelah menjalani perawatan di rumah sakit selama hampir sepekan sejak Selasa (22/7) karena terjangkit demam berdarah. Dalam latihan Rabu, setelah menjalani latihan bertanding di lapangan, Taufik yang akan mengikuti Olimpiade ketiganya setelah Olimpiade Sydney 2000 dan Athena 2004, melanjutkan dengan latihan fisik di ruang fitness di bawah pengawasan pelatihnya Mulyo Handoyo. Pada turnamen bulutangkis Olimpiade Beijing yang akan digelar di Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, 9-17 Agustus, Taufik langsung maju ke putaran kedua bertemu pemain Malaysia, Wong Choong Hann. Jika berhasil mengatasi Choong Hann, juara dunia 2005 itu berpeluang memperebutkan tempat di perempatfinal dengan atlet Vietnam Nguyen Tien Minh -- yang pernah mengalahkannya di Filipina Terbuka 2007, namun dibalas Taufik di All England 2008 -- jika Nguyen berhasil melalui lawan sebelumnya, pemenang antara Hsieh Yu Hsin dan Kaveh Mehrabi dari Iran. Jika berhasil lolos ke babak delapan besar, Taufik kemungkinan bertemu pemain tuan rumah China yang menjadi unggulan keempat, Chen Jin dan pemain peringkat satu dunia Lin Dan diperkirakan telah menunggu di semifinal. Dua gelar Meski sudah pernah menjuarai Olimpiade, pebulutangkis yang belum meraih satu gelar pun tahun ini, langsung berlatih setelah keluar dari rumah sakit karena mengejar target pribadinya. "Gregetnya memang berbeda karena saya sudah pernah menjadi juara Olimpiade, tetapi karena belum pernah ada yang dua kali menjuarai Olimpiade pada tunggal putra, saya ingin mengejarnya," ujar Taufik. In regards to his feeling on his upcoming Olympics' chances, "The feeling of being overly-excited (very hard to describe "greget") is different because i've been an Olympic winner; but because there has never been a 2-time Olympic MS champion, i want to pursue it" Taufik commented. Sejak dipertandingkan pertama kali pada 1992 di Barcelona, medali emas tunggal putra selalu dimenangi pemain yang berbeda. Setelah Alan Budikusuma dari Indonesia di Barcelona 1992, medali emas Olimpiade berikutnya di Atlanta 1996 dimenangi Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen dari Denmark, kemudian Ji Xinpeng dari China menjuarai Olimpiade Sydney 2000 sebelum Taufik memenanginya di Athena empat tahun lalu. "Tetapi saya tidak tahu fisik saya mampu atau tidak," kata ayah satu anak yang masih dalam pemulihan setelah menderita demam berdarah selama sepekan. In regards to his physical fitness, the father of one child who's still recovering from a dengue fever, a week ago, said "But i don't know whether my physical fitness will carry me through or not". Selain Taufik, tunggal putra juga Indonesia akan diwakili oleh Sony Dwi Kuncoro. Juara Indonesia Terbuka Super Series tersebut dipastikan akan berusaha memperbaiki hasil yang diraihnya di Athena saat ia menyumbang medali perunggu bagi kontingen Indonesia. Selain mereka, bulutangkis yang dibebani mempertahankan tradisi emas Olimpiade, juga diwakili Maria Kristin (tunggal putri), Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan dan Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto (ganda putra), Vita Marissa/Liliyana Natsir (ganda putri), ditambah Nova Widianto dan Flandy Limpele yang masing-masing akan berpasangan dengan Liliyana dan Vita di ganda campuran. (*)
BBC did a documentary many years ago in Malaysia which I featured as a player, playing badminton in the wet market with some friends. It was to tell people in England why Malaysian badminton is so good coz they play anywhere where there is space. This is the truth as Malaysians and Indonesians will play badminton any place where they can hang up a net (or even without the net).
Wah XBall, didn't know you were a star player man. Being filmed by BBC also that must be rather rare. Did you keep a pic of that experience and mind showing to us? Fond Memories man! Like the "Spirit of Champions" documentary on the Sideks and YKH and CSK, the Olympic heroes for Malaysia, produced and shown by Singapore's Channel News Asia (CNA) last night. The Sideks, who were first brought into the game by their revered but very strict father, first started playing in the home-made courts in the open compound at their house. Their training schedule was so tough that Rashid felt many of Malaysia's juniors would not be able to follow and last the distance. A really nice piece of work for badminton fans and I'm glad CNA took the initiative to do it.
Unfortunately, I was too young then to ask for anything from BBC - it was our senior (the famous Tan Aik Huang's younger brother Tan Aik Mong) who ordered us to do the documentary for BBC. Aik Mong might have got a copy. It was less than 15 minutes of acting coz really the court at the wet market was too slippery. We did only two takes and it was over -- we were very good actors.
Wah success la. Maybe our local director, Jin Shamsuddin should do a movie about LCW and cast you as LCW. And Saiful Apek as Misbun. I didnt know you are a famous actor and all.
Taufik is motivated to defend his Olympic Gold medal.. ..another article from Suarapembaruan.com..The INA badminton squad is slated to leave for Beijing this Sunday (03/08). (i'll just translate his quotes).. http://www.suarapembaruan.com/News/2008/07/31/Olahraga/or05.htm ========================================================== Taufik Terpacu Pertahankan Emas Olimpiade [BANDUNG] Pemain tunggal putra Taufik Hidayat semakin terpacu untuk mempertahankan medali emas Olimpiade setelah sembuh dari sakit demam yang baru saja dideritanya. Memang, katanya, persaingan Olimpiade 2008 Beijing bakal lebih ketat sehingga untuk mempertahankannya pun akan sangat berat. "Saya menganggap sakit sebagai motivasi tambahan," kata Taufik di sela-sela acara turnamen bulutangkis antarsekolah Milo School Competition (MSC) di Bandung, Rabu (30/7). In regards to what motivates him, Taufik said, "I look at me being sick as an added motivation", in between an inter-school tournament Milo School Competition in Bandung. Dia mengakui, akhir-akhir ini dia tidak bisa menuai hasil maksimal dalam berbagai pertandingan super series dan juga Piala Thomas 2008, Mei lalu. "Kondisi tahun ini juga berbeda. Posisi saya harus mempertahankan gelar juara, sedangkan empat tahun lalu bertindak sebagai perebut emas," ungkapnya. In regards to his recent performance and his OG's outlook, he said "The condition this year is different. My position now is to defend my title, whilst four years ago i was there to wrest the Gold medal". Saat ini, lanjut mantan juara dunia itu, kekuatan tunggal putra juga cukup merata. Terbukti, gelar juara super series tak hanya dipegang satu pemain saja. "Siapa yang siap di lapangan dialah yang menang," tegas Taufik. In regards to the level of competition, so far, this yr, Taufik added " Whoever is ready, he/she will win". Oleh karena itu, dia tak mau menyia-nyiakan waktu yang tersisa menuju Olimpiade. Dalam waktu yang sangat singkat, dia akan lebih giat berlatih. Tim bulutangkis rencananya akan berangkat ke Beijing pada Minggu (3/8) mendatang.
