When You Say Badminton, You Say Indonesia. That is the title of the article published in the New York Times. The New York Times mentioned how ingrained badminton is in Indonesia. Several names were mentioned in the article, including Rudy Hartono, Christian Hadinata to the present playes, such as the men’s doubles Kevin Sanjaya / Marcus Gideon.
Badminton is a popular sport in Indonesia and has become a mainstay in bringing medals from the Olympics and Asian Games. In fact, Indonesia has brought home 7 gold medals from the Olympics.
President of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC) Raja Okto Saptahari was involved in the feature article. Saptahari said that badminton has its own DNA in Indonesia. The society has great enthusiasm for this sport. Badminton has become a unifying force because it is a gathering place for athletes from various ethnic and religious backgrounds in Indonesia. Even though Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, in this sport, they are all united in a mission to make the nation proud.
Several representatives of the newspaper had also visited Indonesia ahead of the upcoming grand event of the Tokyo Olympics. They saw firsthand how the development of badminton in the country. They also said that Indonesia’s success in the sport has made the next generation feel they have a great demand to always be successful.
Moreover, the Olympics, whose implementation is postponed to next year, becomes a burden for Indonesian athletes today, especially for Kevin / Marcus. They are the strongest candidates to win the four-year tournament.
“There was a lot of pressure from everywhere. Before we were in first place, we played without pressure. But if we play now, everyone hopes that we will win. If we lose in the final, we are considered a failure,” said Marcus Gideon to the official Olympic website. “Win or lose we just enjoy the process. The important thing is we have tried our best,” said Kevin Sanjaya.
Apart from highlighting Kevin / Marcus’ statement, the New York Times also highlighted the internal tournament held by Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI). They said the postponement of the Olympics did not make Indonesian badminton players dim. The players had to follow the National Training Program for months in Cipayung while following the health protocol rules during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The US media discussed Indonesia’s progress, starting with Christian Hadinata, who won the 1972 Munich Olympics without a medal. At that time, badminton was still an exhibition branch.
Then, in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Indonesia won several medals including the “Olympic golden bride”. The nickname given by the international media to Alan Budikusuma and Susy Susanti is as they are husband and wife who won gold medals in men’s singles and women’s singles. Other Indonesian athletes who won Olympic gold medals were also mentioned, such as Lilyana Natsir and Hendra Setiawan.
In addition, Rudy Hartono also made an extraordinary achievement, winning the All England 8 times. Rudy became the first Indonesian whose name was recorded in the Guinness World of Book Records. And it is so far unbeaten.
Other countries have always thought that Indonesia is a country that is good at badminton. No wonder the media mention how important badminton is because of the high enthusiasm of the players and society.
