Blogs

Exploring Indonesian Badminton

  • by Admin
  • May 5, 2018

The Indonesia national badminton team represents their country Indonesia in the international badminton team’s competitions. It is controlled and managed by the PBSI (Persatuan Bulutangkis Seluruh Indonesia) which is the administrative team for badminton in Indonesia. Since the first world tournament, The Thomas cup, Indonesia has been a major part in it. It entered the roots of the competition and has been in the league since then. They won the first competition in 1958 since it first entered. The player who the gold medal in 2004 Olympic in men’s single was Taufik Hidayat. The Indonesian men’s team participated for the Thomas cup 23 times and amongst that won the title 13 times. This strikingly amazing performance has never been down even in the qualification for inter-zone competitions. Indonesia has been at the top four teams ever since and has played in the decisive final tie on 18 occasions and astonishingly never failed. The women’s team of Indonesia has participated in the Uber cup for 20 times and won the title 3 times, except once in the year 2006, where it failed to qualify. On 10 occasions the Indonesian team has played in the decisive final tie. This proves that the badminton is the most successful and admired sport in Indonesia. Introduced during the colonial Dutch East Indies period, the badminton gained its popularity rapidly. The best quality of this sport is that almost everyone can play it due the advantage of its low equipment cost . It makes it affordable for everyone to enjoy in their backyard or beach on holidays or every day.

Some of the famous players in the Indonesian Badminton team who brought national pride are as follows:

  • Tan Joe Hok, born in 1937, he is considered a hero of Indonesian badminton. Hok was the first Indonesian badminton athlete to win the All England Cup in 1959 and the first Indonesian to win a gold medal in the 1962 Asian Games.
  • Rudy Hartono Kurniawan is the most famous athlete in badminton’s history. He fell in love with badminton when he was 9 years old. His talent and passion took him to win the All England Tournaments and Thomas Cup from 1968 to 1974.
  • Lim Swee King was an active competitor in both singles and doubles and was best known for his aggressive style of play and his amazingly powerful smash. In 2002 King was invited to the International Badminton Federation Hall of Fame.
  • Ferry Sonneville was the owner of various international titles in badminton including the Dutch Open, the French Open, the Canadian Open, and All England Tournament. Sonneville also took part in developing some of the most prestigious badminton associations in Indonesia.
  • Minarni Sudaryanto is a well-known Indonesian badminton player in the era of 1959 to 1975’s. She was a Pelatnas athlete (a national organization that only trains talented athletes) and won the All England titles, the Malaysian Open, US Open, Canadian Open, Asian Games, and the Uber Cup.
  • Verawaty Wiharjo (also known as Verawaty Fajrin) had a lot of achievements and started her career when she was a teenager.