Garuda opens up opportunities for tennis aces

Becoming a top athlete in Indonesia does not mean that you will have a stable and secure life after your career is over.

Many have to live modest lives, with some even having to take on employment due to not having enough savings in the bank upon retirement. Their age often means that is it difficult for them to start careers in other fields.

State-owned airline Garuda Indonesia, is among those state companies that committed to supporting the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) and Indonesia’s tennis aces with training sessions to job opportunities.

“Our athletes have worked very hard to get gold medals on behalf of Indonesia. What we really have to think about is how they live after their sporting careers,” the airline’s president director Emirsyah Satar told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday after delivering bonuses to all tennis medalists at the recent SEA Games.

“We all acknowledge that some athletes, who used to make the nation proud with their achievements, now find themselves without a job. Their families are in an unfortunate condition. Garuda Indonesia wants to fix such a situation,” he added.

Garuda Indonesia will open up job opportunities for all tennis aces in Indonesia, starting this year.

“We certainly will test them first, but these athletes are the top priority,” said Emirsyah. “They will get the job based on their skills and they will be expected to work hard.”

At Tuesday’s event, all medalists and coaches received two return tickets to countries including the Netherlands and Japan, as well as money ranging from US$1,000 to $4,000 as bonuses from the airline.

During the current SEA Games, the Indonesian tennis squad won four gold medals, while the soft tennis team swept to seven.

The state airline said that it would continue to support Indonesian tennis.

“We’ve been doing this for about two to three years now. Building a sport in the country is not a one-year project, it takes five to 10 years. So we see a long future [in sponsoring tennis],” said Emirsyah, adding that his company would hold a further meeting with Pelti in determining support.

Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng confirmed Garuda Indonesia’s plan.

“Giving job opportunities to achieving athletes was among the points agreed by both parties [sport federations and state owned companies] as stated in the memorandum of understanding,” said Andi.

Former national tennis player Angelique Widjaja, who took a role as the women’s team coach at the SEA Games, lauded the government and Garuda Indonesia’s support in bringing the country’s tennis to a higher level.

“However, we shall not be too satisfied with this achievement, because it is just the SEA Games. We still have the Asian Games and world level matches to compete in,” she said.

Christopher Rungkat, who earned four gold medals in the Games, said that he would focus on participating in a number of matches in 2012 to boost his world ranking.

Christopher, who received Rp 200 million ($21,978) in bonuses from the government for each of his gold medals, said that he needed strong sponsors to fulfill his plan.

“So far, I only get support from the Indonesia Gold Program,” said the 21-year-old, commenting on the government’s sport development program.