Russia-Ukraine Situation Heats Up, Indonesian Badminton Team Cancels Visit To Poland

Stephani Widjaja, canceled his flight to Poland. (photo: instagram @stephaniewidjaja19)

JAKARTA – The Indonesian badminton team has withdrawn from the 2022 Polish Open International Challenge badminton event in Poland. The move was taken as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which broke out this week.

The competition will be held from March 24-27 in the city of Arłamów, Poland. However, on Friday, February 25, the Indonesian Ambassador to Poland, Anita Luhulima, recommended to PBSI via text message that the Indonesian team should not participate.

In her message, Anita also warned the national badminton parent to cancel the participation of the Indonesian badminton team. The reason is that the competition took place in Poland, which in fact is directly adjacent to Ukraine, so it is very risky.

PBSI immediately held an internal meeting after receiving the message from the Indonesian Ambassador to Poland. The results of the meeting decided that Indonesia would not send players to the event in order to avoid the worst.

"For the safety and security of our athletes, we have accepted the recommendation of the Indonesian Ambassador to Poland by withdrawing participation from the Polish Open," said Head of Public Relations and Media of PP PBSI Broto Happy in a statement received by VOI.

"The Indonesian Ambassador to Poland said that the condition of Ukraine is currently heating up due to the Russian military attack and has an impact on countries that have direct borders such as Poland. The situation is uncertain and can change at any time," said Broto.

Originally PP PBSI would send up and junior athletes to this event as a tournament to increase their flying hours.

"Initially, this event was intended to be used as a showcase for the back-up and junior badminton players. However, we understand that safety and security are the most important things. We will also look for alternative tournaments after this," said Broto.