Ready To Fight, 38 Indonesian Sudirman Cup Team Members Leave For Finland

Hendra Setiawan, Fajar Alfian, and Jonatan Christie before flying to Finland (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The 38-strong Indonesian badminton national team consisting of athletes, technical and physical trainers, doctors, and psychologists departed for Finland to take part in the Sudirman Cup via a flight from Jakarta, Tuesday night.

The national team lineup, consisting of 11 male and nine female athletes, will compete in Vantaa City on 26 September-3 October and will be in Group C with Denmark, the Russian Olympic Committee and Canada.

"We are ready, please pray for the team to play freely and show the best performance. Hopefully, Indonesia can also win the Sudirman Cup to be brought back to the country," said Head of Binpres PP PBSI Rionny Mainaky as reported by Antara, Wednesday.

According to team manager Eddy Prayitno, the team is ready for combat. The results of the PCR test conducted on Monday morning also showed negative results from all team members.

PBSI admits that it has big ambitions to bring the symbol of the supremacy of mixed team badminton in the world, which was achieved only once at the inaugural event in Jakarta in 1989.

The Red and White Squad departed from Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten on Tuesday at 21.05 western Indonesia time. They used Turkish Airlines flight number TK57 via Istanbul.

Before leaving, the Sudirman Cup team was also released by PP PBSI Daily Chair Alex Tirta at the PBSI Cipayung National Training Center, East Jakarta, Tuesday afternoon. Alex advised that the Red and White team should always be compact and be able to enjoy the match while struggling in Finland.

"Goodbye and have a good match. Show your best performance and enjoy the match. Our prayers are with the Indonesian team's struggle. Hopefully, the players will be able to maintain their health and cohesiveness," said Alex.