PBSI Asks Players Not To Slack, Ready To Face Sudirman And Thomas-Uber Cups

Greysia/Apriyani (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Central Board of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PP PBSI) reminded the national team players from the Cipayung National Team to prepare to face a number of other prestigious tournaments that will be held after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The statement made by the General Chairperson of PBSI Agung Firman Sampurna is a reminder that the Red and White badminton squad is ready to fight again in big tournaments such as the Sudirman Cup and the Thomas-Uber Cup.

"The feeling of happiness for the (medal) victory is still very much felt, but the rest time is only for a short time. We have to prepare for international tournaments, namely the Sudirman Cup and the Thomas-Uber Cup. We have big ambitions to win," said Agung, as quoted by Antara in an official statement. PBSI in Jakarta, Thursday.

Sudirman Cup 2021 is scheduled to be held in Vantaa, Finland on 23 September-3 October. One week later, the Thomas-Uber Cup, which has been delayed by a year, will take place in Aarhus, Denmark on October 9-17.

Agung said that the big tournaments could be a "revenge" event for athletes who were not lucky enough to win the Tokyo Olympics.

Through a new spirit through winning two medals from Tokyo 2020, along with player evaluations, he hopes that the supremacy of Indonesian badminton can return this year.

Agung, who spoke on the occasion of picking up the Red and White contingent at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Wednesday night, did not forget to also congratulate Greysia Polii, Apriyani Rahayu and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting for their proud achievement from Tokyo.

"I am very grateful, in this difficult situation at least getting a gold medal from the Olympics," Agung said.

In the flight that arrived at 23.45 WIB, in addition to transporting the second batch of badminton national teams, the chairman of the Indonesian contingent Rosan Roeslani, weightlifting, athletics and shooting athletes also participated.

After getting off the plane, Greysia/Apriyani was given an award in the form of a "water salute" followed by a welcoming ceremony. Also present were Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali, Chairman of the Central KONI Marciano Norman, and several other sports leaders.