Hello all, I thought this post would be best under the professional players section. Anyway I'm in Jakarta at the moment and was lucky enough to meet Susi Susanti, her husband Alan and Susi's brother. There was an exhibition that I was invited to attend at the Kelapa Gading Badminton Hall with a number of the Indonesian national players present. It was a good night and it was great to see this X-Pro players getting involved and chatting to people. It's a real pity however that these X greats don't get more for their contribution to the sport. Anyway, here's a pic;
i know the event... it was the fasting break gathering rite, isn't it??? is it private event or opened for public??? how could u get the invitation??? wow,, lucky u... regret that i missed the event since my house is near to kelapa gadink sports mall,,, huhuhuhu... i thought it would be held in ASTEC hall since susi has it.. do u have others pic??? hopefully u're please to post it here... hehehhe...
Dy, that was an event that ive told u!! How pity u werent there!! Hahaha.. @Secretly. They are WOMENS doubles. Not MIXED one. Yea, Butet looks so masculine. But shes a girl (dont laugh her Dy, haha). I heard there was gift exchange also. Wat did u get? More pix please. Thanks for the review.
I went the the Kalapa Gading Hall again last night to play and it was great. I got to play doubles against Susi Susanti and Latif. We lost, I guess they've played together for a long time so we had no chance. I think the score was 21-13. The highlight was beating Susi at the net twice. She may not be as fit anymore but her shots are great. Her smash is like a man and her net play, well most of the time I wasn't really sure where she was hitting the shuttle. I'm playing with them again on Thursday, maybe she'll challenge me to singles, ha ha. There was this old guy there, I think he was 55 years old and I have never seen an old guy so fit. Even the average players at Kalapa Gading would beat most of us back in Australia. I think it was a private gathering last Thursday, my wife pulled a few strings with Rudy Gunawan, Susi's brother and next thing I knew I was in. The whole time we were playing doubles last night Astro was recording the game. I can tell you it must be so annoying to spend your life with a video camera thrust in your face. Anyway, I think I'll be getting some coaching from one of their junior coaches for the remainder of my holiday here, mainly so I can get better at coaching my kids when I get back to Oz. Tim H
I have no idea about this event. And Kelapa Gading is kinda far from where I live.. damn. But wooow you get to play with them and everything! Great! Tell us more, Tim =)
I played at Senayan Hall tonight with Sen, another Indonesian BC member. Senayan Hall is a great facility and underused I think. Maybe it's quiet because of Ramadhan. The players at Kelapa Gading are of a much higher standard than those playing at Senayan but after the aching limbs from the night before Senayan was a good warm down. It's good that you have the oportunity to meet X Olympic athletes here in Indonesia as this would never happen in Oz. What would be even more spectacular would be if we could get Susi or one of her friends to do some coaching in Darwn Australia. We are so close to Indonesia, just a 1 1/2 hour flight from Bali so maybe we can get something to happen. I'll keep you posted on how the training goes, playing at Kelapa Gading is a massive step up from what I'm sued to. Tim H
^^Anymore pics??..^^ ..Timbuctoo (Tim), thanks for sharing your experiences! Btw, please post more pics of your experience (w/ the INA BC member, too).. *i take it your wife is Indonesian??..
Sorry boss, I'm going again today and will take the camera. I like playing so much I forget to take photos. I'm also a bit worried about loosing it. My wife is Indonesian, you are correct. Tim H
I am playing this Sunday at Ancol Barat no 3. From 9 am. There is another BC member from China playing too. Also a Malaysian, the rest are Indonesian. Welcome to join us, Tim. I too have a fun play that day, Tim.
I thought I might update this thread. Tonight was the third night playing at Kalapa Gading Badminton Hall and I feel that playing against the good players there has really improved my game & there are a lot of good players there. The highlight so far was tonights singles match against Susy Susanti. The score was 21-10 with Susy winning. I won the first 4 points of the game until Susy realised that if she hits it deep to my backhand I'd struggle (message to myself, need some coaching for my backhand). She hasn't lost any of her stroke play (especially at the net) and is still quite fit. I managed to play some decent rallys with her and was just glad I pushed her around the court a bit. I think 10 strokes each was the longest rally. Here are some pics taken with our crappy point & shoot; That serve & man does it go high, lost sight of it there I think!! Walking off after being beat Here's a pic of Alan & Susy playing doubles Another game of singles, this time I won a game For all those gear heads out there I can tell you that both Susy & Alan are using prototype ASTEC rackets (blanks, no pretty bits). After waving them about I can tell you they are well built and have an interesting new tech that is sure to bring some interest to the racket world when they are released. Their gear might hopefully end up in the hands of a future Indonesian National player on the International circuit which would be great for ASTEC. Kudos to them for not copying other brands and coming out with new ideas. If anything else interesting happens on my tour of the Indonesian Badminton scene I'll post it here. I'm hoping to go to Djaram Kudus this Sunday with some luck. Seeya in the next update. Tim H
thanks for updating us. So, u come here special to be on training with Susi?? oh i remember. you were invited by Susi rite. hehee.. To get training again at Djarum?? give u a best luck at Djarum Kudus then. You'll pass my city i think.. hehe..
No not personal training, just a friendly match for old times sake!! Australians don't really get the chance to play against past or present olympic athletes so I had to make the most of the oportunity. I've had a great time here in Jakarta though, eating the food and playing Badminton. If anyone wants to get better at the sport I can surely recommend the Kalapa Gading Badminton Hall. I would like to go to Djaram Kudus just to check it out! Tim H
talking about past athletes. i wonder if there is held a match for retired players. hehe.. that would be great match ritee...
Groovy!!.. ...thanks for sharing a bit more pics & stories!..Btw, is that sen in the last pic above (red short)??.. As for your plan to go to Kudus, you'll be quite pleased with Djarum Kudus, if and when you visit there..Not only with the place but also with the personnel!
I am not in that picture. I didn't go to Kelapa Gading. My photo is here(with my wife) : http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1047738&l=dd9a2&id=730790792