Badminton Is The 'Second Religion', Do Not Tarnish The Pride Of The Indonesian People

Marcus Gideon (Instagram @marcusfernaldig)

JAKARTA - If European countries have football and the United States has basketball, then Indonesia of course has badminton. For the people of Indonesia, the sport of patok fur is a 'second religion'. Exaggerated? May be. But such are the facts.

There is no sport that Indonesia should be proud of besides badminton. Stop! Don't talk about football anymore. About this one sport, Indonesia is not God's choice.

Badminton? No one doubts the superiority of this sport. The ranks of achievements achieved by Indonesian athletes in various tournaments. Countless numbers.

We still remember very well how the Indonesian people shed tears when Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma won gold medals at the Barcelona Olympics 29 years ago. In fact, it must be admitted, most of them are football fans who only watch badminton occasionally.

Yes, there must be a seasonal fan in that audience. Poser. Or whatever you call it. Even so, when it comes to sports that can foster nationalism, never doubt them.

The Indonesian people will be at the forefront of the screen. Yelling, jumping, and even running to release happiness when the Red and White athletes get points. On the other hand, they will hit any object nearby just to wreak havoc when your opponent takes points.

Forced to resign through discriminatory action

Being forced to resign the Indonesian team from All England left a deep pain in the Indonesian people. The Indonesian team's up-and-coming action ended dramatically. It is not without reason that the term 'on the rise' is here. In the opening four parties, Indonesia wiped out the victory.

The Indonesian team was then escorted out of the arena because a contact tracing by the British health authorities proved that they were on a plane with one of the anonymous passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 on a flight from Istanbul (Turkey) to Birmingham (England).

Which makes it even more annoying. According to Praveen Jordan in uploading his social media account, the Indonesian team was not facilitated by a bus to return to the hotel from Utilita Arena Birmingham. They have to walk.

This testimony suddenly led to strong protests from the officials accompanying the athlete because of a very sudden decision. PBSI as the parent organization is also excited to hear this. They are collaborating with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find diplomatic solutions.

The decision to withdraw the Indonesian team from All England raised suspicions because the national team received discriminatory treatment from the organizing committee. All members of the national team are asked to undergo isolation at the hotel for 10 days and no longer have the opportunity to return to compete.

But strangely, before the day of implementation there were a number of participants who tested positive for COVID-19, but in less than 24 hours they tested negative and could compete. Meanwhile, the results of the PCR swab test on the national team which was carried out twice in Birmingham showed both test results were negative.

General Chairperson of PP PBSI Agung Firman Sampurna is still waiting for the official statement from the British Health Service Agency (NHS) to provide information on who the passenger in question is. PBSI accuses the NHS of being responsible for causing the Indonesian national team to be withdrawn by the World Federation of Tanglis (BWF) from All England.

In fact, apart from following the PCR test in Birmingham, members of the departing national team have also received two vaccine injections in the country.

According to Antara, suspicion also arose after there was an assumption that Indonesia was deliberately removed so that it could not win a single title in Birmingham through discriminatory actions.

The assessment is based on the results of the match on the first and last day of the national team when two Indonesian men's doubles beat British representatives, namely Matthew Clare / Ethan Van Leeuwen who were defeated by Minions, and Ben Lane / Sean Vendy who were beaten by The Daddies.

In the Hendra / Ahsan match against Lane / Vendy, one of the linesmen was found to be from England, even though the BWF provisions require that this is not allowed.

During the match point of the last game, the line judge gave a warning to Ahsan who was responded to with a protest because the badminton player from Palembang felt he had not committed a violation. On the other hand, Ahsan / Hendra are not proud to show off their fair play in this match. Read it here.

Badminton is a reflection of yourself

Football deserves to be called a people's sport. It doesn't take much capital to play this sport. Nyeker was already sweating. Playing on grass or former rice fields, it's equally delicious. Meanwhile, badminton requires capital to buy shoes and racquets.

But, we have to be realistic. Badminton is a sport that unites the nation. Only with the achievements of the athletes tapak Bulu the people of Indonesia can unite in the midst of the entanglement of political issues that never ends.

Furthermore, badminton is the 'second religion' of the Indonesian people. Sri Pakualam in his book Wedhatama said, religion is clothing, ugeman or ageman. Everything we wear must match our real soul. A reflection of who we really are.

Badminton is a reflection of the Indonesian people. Yes, badminton is not just a dogma or norm, it is already in the blood of the Indonesian people, every breath it takes. Like it or not.