The All England Case In The Eyes Of Sports Practitioners: A Danger Warning For The Indonesian Contingent At The Tokyo Olympics

Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya (Photo: BWF Tour)

JAKARTA - Sports practitioner Hifni Hasan sees the case of the Indonesian badminton team being forced to withdraw from the prestigious All England tournament can be used as a lesson for the appearance of the Red and White contingent in international championships.

"The case of the withdrawal of the Indonesian badminton team from All England is an important lesson and even a warning or alarm for the Indonesian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics," said Hifni in a written statement quoted by Antara, Friday.

"Parent sports organizations that will fight and have qualified for the Olympics, KOI and even the government, in this case the Ministry of Youth and Sports, need to know early and seriously and thoroughly the rules for implementing the handling of COVID-19 that apply in Japan," he continued.

In order to anticipate that unwanted things happen to the Indonesian contingent, an intensive approach is needed to the parties related to the health protocol rules in that country.

Hanif added, sports branches need to approach sports federation partners, as well as with KOI, the Ministry, and the government with Indonesian ambassadors.

"This anticipation should have been carried out from now on so that we are ready in advance. Do not arrive at a time of reason that will have bitter consequences later on," said Hifni.

Meanwhile, sports that are still participating in Olympic qualifying matches need to know the COVID-19 health protocol that is implemented in the country where the qualifying matches are held.

According to Hifni, the incident in All England was not a matter of sport but health regulations concerning Indonesia's health reputation, so this issue needs serious attention from all parties.

"It would be nice if the Ministry of Youth and Sports and KOI actively provide training to the main sports organizations about implementing the rules for handling COVID-19 both in Indonesia and in countries abroad. This is to avoid repetition of the bitter experience in All England," said Hifni.

All Indonesian players were forced to withdraw from the All England tournament because during a flight from Istanbul to Birmingham on Saturday, March 13 there was a passenger with COVID-19. However, the Indonesian team was not told who, how many people and where the positive person came from.

In accordance with British government regulations, if you are on the same plane as a person who is positive for COVI-19, you are required to undergo isolation for 10 days. Thus, 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 in Birmingham last Saturday.