Forget Last Year's Tragedy, KOI Chair Calls All England A Moment To Prove Indonesia Upholds Olympic Values

Chairman of KOI Raja Sapta Oktohari (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) Raja Sapta Oktohari said, All England 2022 is a moment of proof for Indonesian badminton players in upholding the spirit and values of the Olympics, regardless of the incident that occurred last year.

Okto, Raja Sapta's nickname, asked Indonesian badminton players to focus on bringing home the championship title and forget about last year's incident when Indonesia was forced to withdraw from the tournament.

"We know last year's experience was heartbreaking, but I hope the athletes have a kstarian spirit. This is the right moment to prove to the world that our athletes don't just excel on the field. However, their souls are also firmly embedded in Olympic values, namely excellence, friendship, and respect," Okto said as quoted by Antara.

In last year's All England edition, Indonesian athletes were forced to withdraw from the tournament because they were on the same plane with a patient infected with COVID-19 on a flight from Istanbul (Turkey) to Birmingham.

Based on the UK's National Health Agency (NHS) regulation, the players are in the close contact category, so they need to undergo a 10-day quarantine and BWF does not allow Indonesian players to appear on the second day of the tournament.

However, Okto reminded that the matter has been resolved and BWF President Poul-Erik Hoyer has even apologized directly for the decision that has harmed Indonesia.

"The All England incident is certainly a record for us. BWF has apologized, even the President of BWF (Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen) said that Indonesia has an important meaning for him, and we are talking about bigger things for the progress of badminton and Indonesian sports," he said.

Indonesia was strengthened by its best players at the All England 2022. There were nine representatives who were selected, namely men's singles Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie, Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, women's singles Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, men's doubles Marcus Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan, and Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

In the women's doubles sector, Merah Putih relied on Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu, while the mixed doubles was represented by Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari.

Not only that, Indonesia will also be strengthened by two other mixed doubles players, namely Praveen Jordan / Melati Daeva Oktavianti and Dejan Ferdinansyah / Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja who will debut as non-training players.