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Markis and Hendra ready to go professional
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orld No. 3 men’s doubles pair Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan have left the country’s badminton training camp to embark on a professional quest, but have promised to play their part in the biennial Thomas Cup.
“[The resignation] is final, so we’ll start looking for sponsors soon,” Markis told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He was speaking after a meeting with Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) deputy chairman I Gusti Made Oka, secretary-general Jacob Rusdianto and athlete development head Lius Pongoh.
“The PBSI has OK’d our resignation,” he added.
“However, we’ve agreed to help out the squad at the Thomas Cup.”
The PBSI’s Jacob, however, told the Post that the association had not made any decision on the former world No. 1 duo.
“Today’s meeting was fruitless, in terms of getting them to renew their contracts at the national training camp, but [PBSI chairman] Djoko [Santoso] hasn’t made a final decision,” he said.
“We’re still open for the possibility that [Markis’] club [Jayaraya] or his parents will help us bridge the gap.”
The PBSI has not set a deadline to bring the top players back to the camp, but will in March officially name shuttlers to be promoted to the camp and those dropping out.
Markis and Hendra submitted their resignations days before winning gold at the recent Southeast Asian Games in Laos.
“I want to enjoy playing, and the pressure in the national training camp is too much,” said Markis, whose cited his high blood pressure and nagging knee injury as factors for quitting the camp.
He added the PBSI had offered him training privileges on medical grounds.
“I declined the offer. I really want to play independently,” said Markis, 25, who at the start of 2009 also threatened to resign after a disagreement over the value of his contract.
Markis has played with Hendra since they were 13, and said, “We won’t part company.”
Both will return to Jayaraya to train and spar with other shuttlers who went pro, including Alvent Yulianto Chandra, Hendra Aprida Gunawan, Vita Marissa, Taufik Hidayat and Flandy Limpele.
“Back when I resigned from the squad, it took us two months to get a sponsor, but the world No. 3 won’t face this problem,” Alvent told the Post on Monday upon arriving in Kuala Lumpur for the season-opening Malaysia Super Series that runs from Jan. 19-24.
Having started their professional career ranked in the 60s, Alvent and doubles partner Aprida are now the world No. 5.
Alvent said although it carried more responsibility, becoming a pro shuttler had boosted his personal motivation to train and play his best.
“After all the effort of entering a tournament, including booking your own plane tickets and looking and applying for the event, it’s a shame if you don’t train and play your best,” said the 29-year-old.
As the entry deadline for the Feb. 21-28 Thomas and Uber Cub Asian preliminaries in Thailand approaches, Indonesia will likely feature two new faces in the national team: Dyonisius Hayom Rumbaka in the men’s singles and Maria Febe Kusumastuti in the women’s singles.
Both are ranked in the top 30 and will likely be promoted to the national camp in March.
Six winning teams from Asia and six from Oceania will compete in the Thomas and Uber Cup finals from May 9-16 in Malaysia, where defending champion China and the host are given automatic berths.
