Indonesia Incident In All England 2021, Marcus Gideon: BWF Don't Just Apologize And Consider The Business Is Finished

Greysia Polii (right) and Marcus F. Gideon giving press statements upon arrival from England (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Representatives of the badminton national team athletes competing in the All England 2021 admitted that they were not satisfied with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) apology for the forced withdrawal incident during the first round of the Super 1000 tournament on March 17.

Men's doubles athlete Marcus Fernaldi Gideon asked BWF to make more preparations. With the number of tournaments that have decreased due to the impact of the pandemic, BWF should have a better projection of preparation to avoid events like those experienced by the national team.

"Preparation must be more mature. I'm afraid that if something like this happens again, they (BWF) just apologize without any definite accountability. Don't just apologize and the business is considered finished, it shouldn't be like that," said Marcus in a virtual press conference. Monday night, as reported by Antara.

In an official letter received by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, BWF realized that it had made a mistake and that the pandemic conditions forced this unpleasant action to occur and befall the Red and White squad.

BWF is committed to correcting mistakes and making more measured preparations so that similar incidents do not happen again in the future.

At the welcoming ceremony for the Indonesian badminton national team at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Monday night, the Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sports, Zainudin Amali, received an apology from BWF to Indonesia for the incident of withdrawing the national team from All England 2021.

The Minister of Youth and Sports said that the apology was not only addressed to the badminton national team, but also to all people, government, and related parties in Indonesia.

"This morning, BWF President Poul Erik formally apologized to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Youth and Sports, PBSI, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, and all related parties. For BWF, Indonesia is a big country for badminton, which has become an icon of national pride on the world stage," said the Minister of Youth and Sports through a virtual press statement session.