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Kids dream of stardom; parents still wary
Future champs: Two young shuttlers hold the loft a shuttlecock handed to them by former Olympic champion Ricky Subagja during a media conference for the Sidu Cup Grand Final on Tuesday
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Future champs: Two young shuttlers hold the loft a shuttlecock handed to them by former Olympic champion Ricky Subagja during a media conference for the Sidu Cup Grand Final on Tuesday. They are among 80 participants in the two-day tournament that begins Wednesday. (Courtesy of Sidu Cup organizers) (Courtesy of Sidu Cup organizers)
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span class="inline inline-none">Future champs: Two young shuttlers hold the loft a shuttlecock handed to them by former Olympic champion Ricky Subagja during a media conference for the Sidu Cup Grand Final on Tuesday. They are among 80 participants in the two-day tournament that begins Wednesday. (Courtesy of Sidu Cup organizers)
Young shuttlers are set to compete in the grand finals of junior badminton tournament Sidu Cup 2014 in what is probably one of their steps toward realizing their dreams of becoming badminton stars.
However, some parents have expressed worry at the prospect of their children choosing the path of becoming professional athletes.
The two-day tournament begins on Wednesday with 80 finalists that have qualified in the series, featuring a total of 9,500 school children, running over 12 months in 10 cities.
'I hope a new Indonesian champion rises from the Sidu Cup. We want to have more world champions here,' said Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) chairman Gita Wirjawan in his opening speech at Senayan National Golf Club on Tuesday.
The competition is being sponsored by Sinar Mas' subsidiary, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), which has put on the tournament four consecutive years as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The tournament was divided into four categories: first and second grade students, third and fourth grade students, and fifth and sixth grade students as well as junior high students.
Gita said that he appreciated the APP for holding such an event and said that it would be good to develop badminton talents as part of a regeneration program.
'Regeneration in sports should be maintained, therefore I appreciate an event like this and hope it can continue,' he said.
However, some of the young athletes' parents expressed their worry over their children taking sports too seriously.
'My child is a good badminton player, but I'm concerned more about his education. I want him to get a good education,' a parent said
Another said that he would like to see his child become a badminton athlete, but is afraid that his son would not have a good future.
Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo Notodiprojo said that the government was trying to cooperate with schools in Indonesia to promote athleticism and that he would try to make sure athletes got a proper education.
'Athletes must get an education. It is important so that if an athlete passes his golden age, he can still have security,' said Roy, adding that he expected the athletes to at least complete high school.
He said that the government was also looking to step up efforts to develop sports outside Java.
'We have made an agreement with Open University [UT] to facilitate the athletes' educational needs. Now we are trying to work with high schools,' he said, adding that the ministry was also trying to approach several veteran athletes to participate in the school-equivalent program.
He said that the ministry was in communications with the Education and Culture Minister to make sure the program worked well.
'Education is a very important thing because it decides the job you get and the salary you earn. For instances, if you work as a civil servant, your degree decides your category,' he said. (idb)
