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Badminton fervor takes over Bung Karno stadium
Badminton has been the pride of Indonesia and a magnet for fans for more than half a decade. Indonesia's success in reaching the final of the Thomas Cup men's team championship in Kunshan, China, 10 days ago saw hundreds of badminton lovers flock to the ongoing 2016 BCA Indonesian Open Super Series at the Bung Karno indoor stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
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Some badminton players have a practice session at the Istora indoor stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta ahead of the BCA Indonesia Open Super Series Premier 2016 badminton championship. (Courtesy of PBSI)
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span style="line-height: 1.6em;">Badminton has been the pride of Indonesia and a magnet for fans for more than half a decade. Indonesia's success in reaching the final of the Thomas Cup men's team championship in Kunshan, China, 10 days ago saw hundreds of badminton lovers flock to the ongoing 2016 BCA Indonesian Open Super Series at the Bung Karno indoor stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Despite only qualifying matches being played on Monday, the atmosphere was already energetic and cheerful, not only in the tribune but in all corners of the venue.
The whiteboard provided by the organizers was immediately full of fans' supportive messages and signatures. Most of the messages reflected people’s hopes that the national shuttlers would win a title in the tournament.
Fans were also enthusiastic in taking selfies with figure boards of Indonesian badminton heroes, including 1992 Olympic gold medalists Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma as well as three-time All England champion Liem Swie King, famous for his "king smash".
Seventeen-year-old Lifia, one of the visitors, expressed her love for badminton and pride about Indonesia’s achievements. She left her house in Ciledug, South Tangerang, which is around 10 kilometers from Senayan, at 8 a.m. to make it in time for the 9 a.m. match.
“I have been looking forward to this event for a long time. I will watch another game on Wednesday,” she said, adding that she was intrigued to watch the world's second best player, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.
She also expressed her excitement about some booths at the venue inviting visitors to partake in games. It was very interesting to be there, she said.
In a "bike for juice" game at the Blibli.com booth, visitors could ride on a static bicycle to earn themselves a bottle of juice.
“Hundreds of visitors have tried this bicycle since we opened in the morning,” booth coordinator Sakti said.
Lender BCA, as the event’s main sponsor, also provides games for visitors.
The Metlife booth was also crowded by visitors wanting to try the “power clap balloon” game and a badminton simulation.
Lynda Nazer from the UK, working for Super Series sponsor MetLife, said she strongly felt the badminton hype.
“I’ve been to India and Singapore, but here [Jakarta] is a lot livelier than the other places. I think it’s going really well. There are a lot of people for a Monday,” Lynda said. (yan)
