Tony Gunawan

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by |R|S, Jun 24, 2002.

  1. |R|S

    |R|S Regular Member

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    "The men's doubles event welcomes back a familiar face - Olympic and world champion Tony Gunawan makes a comeback on the world stage, playing under the USA banner rather than that of his native Indonesia. Instead of enjoying his usual high-seeded status, he's forced to go through the qualifying rounds with partner Bob Malaythong, and also features again in the mixed doubles with Mesinee Mangkalakiri" <-- from www.worldbadminton.net

    what is he doing? part time professional? as i think it's the holidays in the US right now...
     
  2. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    sometimes i don't agree with "buying" players. USAB is trying to get Tony a green card, then Tony will be able to play for the US, thus boosting the rankings of "US" players.
     
  3. Nic

    Nic Regular Member

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    Is that a good news or bad news? If US got a place in the ranking, the media will start broadcasting badminton on the TV. :D
     
  4. Winex West Can

    Winex West Can Regular Member

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    Tony apparently has also been coaching too. He and Bob had an exhibition match with Kevin Han and Howard Bach down at the US National recently.

    You can catch streamed video of the match at http://www.playbadminton.com. Isn't his girlfriend living down there?

    As for good/bad news, I wondered how some of the other US players feel about this as with Tony on, he's taking a spot that would otherwise gone to another player.
     
  5. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    his gf is living, *cough*, in the Bay Area......
     
  6. adelina76

    adelina76 Regular Member

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    Hmms..

    And how would you know that Kwun? Has his girlfriend been walking around with a T-shirt that reads "Tony Gunawan's House of Love" ?

    I agree with Nic..may be a good thing if US pick up badminton..we may get sponsors!
     
  7. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i have connections lah.... i mean, real and reliable connections. not those flaky types....
     
  8. Nic

    Nic Regular Member

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    That will put more pressure and challenge on the US players, by this way, they might train harder in order to play better. Sometimes, outsourcing is not totally bad at all. :p
     
    #8 Nic, Jun 24, 2002
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2002
  9. Ole

    Ole Regular Member

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    wich video format did u guys/wimen use ?
    windows video player? cause i can't see any of the matches, it says "no commbination of filter could be used"
     
  10. TDotSmAsHer

    TDotSmAsHer Regular Member

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    Use real player...
     
  11. sporty

    sporty Regular Member

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    I read in one website a few weeks ago actually Tony wanted to play for Indonesia for Malaysia Open, but after that didnt hear anything... only yesterday then i sawa his name on the draw list.. quite shocked at first....

    So, kwun, is Etty Tantri still playing badminton also??
     
  12. Tezta.com

    Tezta.com Regular Member

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    Tony is a coach/player for USA, right now he has taken the spot of a player named amarit Rojsirivit. Amarit and Bob were playing together for a few years, and now USAB imported tony and had tony sign a contract to play for USA under the Orange county badminton club. Tony just got married to to his fiancee in Vegas, him and his wife will move to S. california where he will play and his wife will go to school. Sure this helps the US players a bit but not much, I used to train on the national team for 2 years and i know the level of players like kevin and howard and bob, so far their level has increased but still not to the point of true international level, If US players want to reach a higher level and bring USA badminton into the spotlight, they need to play more "Real" international events, not those S. american, less than 1 star tournaments, just to get the points. Right now they are in Malaysia, and plan on a trip to the Chinese taipei open, after that who knows? The USAB if funded by the USOC, and the USOC doesnt care about how well their players do in the malaysian open, they only care about the Olympics, i belive that the plan is to qualify as many US players for the olympics as possible, and who knows, maybe USAB thinks they can medal with tony at the helm. :confused: :confused:
     
  13. dsc

    dsc Regular Member

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    Just met him recently

    I had a chance to talked to Tony during the BAJO Spring 2003. He was very nice and very friendly. He seems to loose a lot of weight. It was a nice to talk to somebody from that was born in the same area as I am, especially who knows the dialect.

    Overall, I see Tony as someone who is trying to be with someone whom he loved and also trying to make a living to support his new family. During our talk, he shared with me many difficulties from many sides. I am surprised that he is that strong and tough to go through it. Furthermore, I am surprised that PBSI has granted his request to let him play in Malaysian Open. A praise to PBSI from me for this though I should criticize them for a lot of other things!

    Though many people, especially from Indonesia, will see this as a negative thing, they should remember that he already done a lot for his country. Now it's his turn to do something for his family.

    Thus, I wish Tony the best and hope that he will be successful as badminton needs more friendly and dedicated people like him.
     
  14. sporty

    sporty Regular Member

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    Thanks for the info that u all prvides... Long time dun hear about him since he left Indonesia...

    Wanna wish him all the best too!!!
     
  15. Fourcas

    Fourcas Regular Member

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    qualified

    IMHO, Tony G is the best double player the world has seen the last 5 years. Just knowing he is back on the court makes me smile - i don't care which country he represents and if his wife is being educated in the US i truly understand him wanting to be there.

    maybe he can pass on some knowledge to kwun....ha ha ha ha....

    btw, he is ready for the main competition - that's great!
     
  16. sporty

    sporty Regular Member

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    Yes, happy to hear that he's back on the court... He's still to young to retire as a player and its kinda wasted if he has to stop now....

    =)
     
  17. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    How about this?

    How about....

    USBA employ Tony to play and coach the team for the following reasons:
    1) US players get a coach with International experience
    2) Doubles players can get to play with the coach and hopefully progress further in tournaments (thereby get more experience with every trip away from home)
    3) Singles players are freed up to concentrate on singles rather than having to split their time on doubles

    I personally doubt USBA employed Tony to represent US and win an Olympic medal, though anything is possible.
     
  18. marshall

    marshall Regular Member

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    thanks, Cheung for your clear and reasoned presentation of what I think is the most likely motivation for USAB to make a deal with Tony. I also agree with the view that Tony has already done a huge amount for Indonesia and deserves a bit of cake for himself. I am happy to see him here in US, and hope the US team will benefit from his presence.

    Now if people will stop taking up so much of my time at work, maybe I can go see him play somewhere. For the first time I will be able to see a top player in action without having to leave my country! (Need a cheering face here, kwun)
     
  19. Californian

    Californian Regular Member

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    Countries importing/exporting athletes happens all the time in all kinds of sports. Sometimes it comes back to haunt somebody (I'm thinking S. Korea-Italy WC soccer here).

    I think Tezta hit on a good point about the US team. If they just train with each other, their improvement is limited by each others' level of skills. Countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Denmark at least have several good international players on their own squads who can challenge each other constantly.

    Wouldn't everyone agree that you need to often play people better than you, or at least different that what you're used to, for significant improvement?
     
  20. Phil

    Phil Regular Member

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    Well, Gunawan and Malaythong are now in the main draw as Qualifier Three. They seemed to go through qualifying pretty easily, winning 15-4/15-0, 15-2/15-3, and 15-6/15-5.

    They face seventh seeded Chinese pair Cheng and Wang in the first round.

    Phil
     

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