The Story Of All England 2021, Indonesia In Smes With 'Reason' COVID-19

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The news that the Indonesian Badminton Team was forced to withdraw from the All England Open 2021 tournament came on Thursday morning, March 18.

This bad news follows the discovery of a COVID-19 case from the plane the Indonesian contingent was carrying since coming to the UK on March 13, 2021.

The British government and health authorities have notified all members of the Indonesian team to isolate themselves for 10 days from their arrival.

With this decision, BWF confirmed that Indonesia would withdraw from participating in the All England Open 2021.

"BWF and Badminton England can confirm that a number of team members from Indonesia have been contacted by the UK government's National Health Service (NHS) to immediately isolate themselves," wrote BWF.

"In accordance with British government regulations, all team members will self-isolate for 10 days from the date of arrival after one of the passengers on the same plane tested positive for COVID-19."

"All Indonesian players will not be able to compete in this or the next round and are therefore withdrawn from the All England Open 2021."

In fact, the Indonesian Team has prepared all the necessary health protocols. But in the end, the finding of the COVID-19 case on the plane they were traveling in brought disappointment to them.

Chronology of Indonesian Team Forced to Resign from All England

The Indonesian Badminton Team departed for Birmingham, England on Friday night, using Turkish Airlines aircraft. Here, they are already armed with the results of the PCR swab which stated NEGATIVE.

Arriving in England, the entire team was tested for swabs again and was required to undergo quarantine until the test results came out for 12 hours.

"We are waiting for the swab test results in 12 hours at the earliest. Until the PCR test results come out, we cannot leave the room. So we are waiting in our respective rooms," said the Head of PBSI's Development and Achievement Division on Saturday, March 13.

The test results finally came out and the entire Indonesian team tested negative

Then they held training on Monday, March 15, at the Hotel Crowne Plaza Birmingham City pending confirmation of the start of the 2021 All England Open.

However, BWF had doubts about the results of the PCR swab test that the participating team brought, so they decided to do a retest.

"The Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Badminton England confirm that a number of Covid-19 tests conducted on the teams participating in the All England 2021 are deemed 'inconclusive' so retests will be carried out."

"BWF has also confirmed that a small number of positive tests have been found, and in accordance with the agreement with Public Health England, these cases will be retested. Related parties will continue to be isolated during retesting," said a BWF statement.

The All England tournament started, after all participants tested negative for COVID-19 from the results of the PCR swab conducted by BWF and also the results from the manager's meeting which was held a few hours earlier.

Three Indonesian representatives, Jonatan Cristie, Marcus Fernaldi / Kevin Sanjaya, and Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan competed and managed to beat their respective opponents.

Meanwhile, the women's doubles pair Greysia Polii / Apriyani Rahayu also confirmed they would qualify because their opponent resigned.

Indonesia on 'Smes' from All England

Shocking news came on Wednesday night, March 17, when the British government contacted the Indonesian team regarding the findings of the COVID-19 case.

According to information, one of the passengers (anonymous) who was on the same plane with the Indonesian team tested positive for COVID-19.

This news forced the entire Indonesian team to undergo quarantine for 10 days from their arrival in England on March 13, 2021.

So they were forced to withdraw from participating in the All England Open in 2021.

"All Indonesian teams are forced to withdraw from the Yonex All England 2021 tournament and cannot continue the match. This is because, during a flight from Istanbul to Birmingham on Saturday, March 13, there was one passenger who contracted COVID-19. we were not told who, how many people, and where did the positive person come from, "said Indonesian team manager Ricky Subagja.

In accordance with British government regulations, if you are on the same plane as a person who is positive for COVID-19, you are required to undergo isolation for 10 days. So, the Indonesian team was forced to resign and carry out isolation until March 23, 2021 at the Crowne Plaza Birmingham City Center, starting 10 days from the team's arrival to Birmingham on Saturday, March 13, then.

Neither the BWF nor the All England Committee could do anything about it because this has become a British government regulation.

"But we can be sure, the condition of all Indonesian teams who are in Birmingham at this time are in good health and well. This is an extremely painful and disappointing incident for all of us," said Ricky.

PBSI Asks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Find a Way

The chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia expressed disappointment over the withdrawal of Indonesian players from the All England 2021 tournament after British health authorities found that a passenger on the plane taking them to the UK tested positive for COVID-19.

"We convey our great disappointment," said Agung Firman Sampurna at a press conference on Thursday, March 18, which was broadcast live on television.

Agung said his party had communicated with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to ask British health authorities to confirm which passengers had contact with the 24 Indonesian delegates - all of whom had been vaccinated and tested negative for COVID-19 with a PCR test.

In addition, his party also asked the Foreign Ministry to find a way so that the Indonesian team could continue to compete.

"We will continue to fight, who knows there is still room open for us to continue the match but if not, we don't need to be discouraged.

"We are the pending champions," he said.

KOI urges BWF to be transparent about unfair treatment to the Indonesian team

Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), Raja Sapta Oktohari also spoke up. He urged BWF to immediately explain this matter and treat Indonesian badminton fairly.

Okto also saw the rampant protests on social media from the Indonesian public as a form of reprimand for BWF. Don't be careless with Indonesia, because badminton here is like an ideology.

"We urge the world badminton community. Badminton is like an ideology in Indonesia. There are almost as many fans as football. What has happened has really hurt the Indonesian people," Okto said at a press conference.

Okto also confirmed that his party would launch a protest regarding this issue. Together with the Executive Board of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PB PBSI), they will fight together to demand justice.

"Our attitude towards this situation will convey our protests and our attitude towards BWF and related institutions. And we facilitate together with PBSI so that everything we do can be in line with what PBSI friends are fighting for," he said.

Menpora Call BWF 'Dispose of Body'

The Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali assessed that the organizing committee for the All England Open 2021 was not ready to carry out the international badminton tournament.

According to him, a number of things should have been anticipated from the start so that what happened to the Indonesian badminton team did not happen.

"The government certainly regrets this kind of attitude. Moreover, we know that the All England has not only been done once or twice, it has been done many times. The preparation of the organizing committee which is supervised by the BWF (international badminton federation) must be better prepared. Especially now in a pandemic situation like this, ”said Menpora Amali in Jakarta, Thursday, March 18.

Menpora Amali admitted that he really understood the rules that were applied in the UK during the pandemic related to quarantine in breaking the chain of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, Amali emphasized that his party was protesting against the discriminatory treatment of the BWF organizing committee against the Indonesian team.

According to Amali, based on reports from the Indonesian badminton team who left for England, they were treated with great concern because they were prohibited from being on site, allowed to walk and were not provided with buses, and were even prohibited from taking elevators. In fact, one of the participants from another country who was on the same plane with the Indonesian team was included in the list of players who competed in the tournament.

"This is very discriminatory and hurts our feelings if we let things like this," said Menpora Amali.

Regarding the reason why the BWF said that the Indonesian team left because of the British government's regulations regarding COVID-19, Menpora Amali considered that this was just throwing away the body.

"That's throwing away the body, it can't be like that. There must be efforts that have been made. We even received information that one player from another country had an airplane with our children, he was still listed even though he finally walked out of status. Whether to walk out because it is not allowed or for other reasons is discrimination, ”he said.

DPR Asked the Ministry of Youth and Sports to Install an Agency

Member of Commission X DPR RI, AS Sukawijaya asked the Indonesian Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) to "install a body" to guard the case that was befalling the Indonesian badminton team at the All England tournament in England.

According to the man who is often called Yoyok Sukawi, Kemenpora must be able to find a solution to the incident that is being experienced by the Indonesian badminton team.

"The Indonesian badminton team is your mainstay, with many achievements. In the midst of a situation like this, Kemenpora must install a body, "said Yoyok to reporters, Thursday, March 18.

Yoyok assessed that the government, both Kemenpora and Kemenlu, must also be able to find the real reason or cause and effect. The reason is, there is unfair treatment for the Indonesian badminton team with other countries' teams.

"Try to confirm again to the BWF and the All England organizers, how come they report different treatment. This must be confirmed," said Yoyok.

"If indeed British government regulations are like that, that's okay. But if there is a different treatment, this must be asked, "continued the member of the Commission who is in charge of sports affairs.