It’s not game over for Indonesian badminton, says China’s former star Huang Hua
Indonesian badminton has fallen on hard times. But a retired star sees reason for cheer – and remembers the good old days weren’t always so good for the country’s ethnic Chinese
It’s been quite a week for the humble shuttlecock and thrilling comebacks. First, the Japanese women’s badminton team swept to victory in the Uber Cup to regain the number one ranking they have not held since 1981. Then, just one day later, the Chinese retook the top slot in the men’s event by beating the Japanese 3-1 to win a 10th Thomas Cup.
Phew! And whoever said badminton was boring? The two wins have pulses racing on the court side at the prospect of a new era in which Asia’s two most powerful nations battle it out for shuttlecock supremacy.
Yet not everyone will have been so thrilled. Watching from the sidelines, hoping for a thrilling comeback of their own, were the once indomitable Indonesians. Unfortunately for them, the biennial tournaments underlined just how far the once mighty Indonesia has fallen in the one sport in which traditionally it has truly excelled.
Indonesia’s Reformasi activists were burned, beaten, electrocuted – and they still fear for their country
The Indonesian men’s team, which can still boast of having won more Thomas Cups than any other nation (13), have not won the tournament since 2002. And the women’s loss in the quarter finals to host Thailand only served to underline how its stream of talent has been drying up since the heyday of Susi Susanti in the 1990s.
But Susanti can take comfort from an unlikely corner.
“Indonesians are born to play badminton … from their skill and game strategy, Indonesia is always the best,” says Susanti’s one-time on-court nemesis Huang, who has taken Indonesian citizenship.
