Indonesia’s legendary female shuttler Susi Susanti is hitting the gas, ready as she can be to restore pride in the sinking women’s division through the sport’s federation over the next four years.

“I was raised by badminton, and I think now is the perfect time for me to give back,” the country’s first Olympic gold medalist told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The new chief of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), Wiranto, announced Sunday that Susi will helm the federation’s development division, replacing Rexy Mainaky, who was in office during former PBSI chief Gita Wiryawan’s tenure.

Supporting the development of the underperforming shuttlers in the women’s division is one of Susi’s main targets, in addition to scouting more potential athletes as part of her regeneration program.

“Our women’s division is indeed in trouble and I’d like to do something about it using my long-term program, without neglecting the development of other groups [men’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles],” said the 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medalist.

In the Olympics, Susi, who won bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games, is the only gold medalist in the women’s division, although Indonesia has seen success with silver medalists Mia Audina in Atlanta and bronze medalist Maria Kristin Yulianti at the 2008 Beijing Games.

At the Uber Cup women’s team tournament, Indonesia has collected three victories, while its counterpart, the Thomas Cup men’s team, has 13.

Susi said men’s doubles and mixed doubles have shown laudable performances at international events over the past few years.

“And we’ll carry on with the successful program of those two groups — our favorites,” she said.

“Nevertheless, I’d also like to see similar success in the women’s
division, and we’ll create the best strategy to bring back Indonesian glory to the world of badminton,” she added.

Like Susi, Wiranto, who is also the political, legal and security affairs coordinating minister, successfully approached Indonesia’s greats in the sport, including Christian Hadinata, Alan Budikusuma, Taufik Hidayat, Ricky Subagja and Lius Pongoh, to join his wagon in handling badminton, the country’s most hopeful Olympic sport.

Christian, who competed in the sport between 1971 and 1986, is a familiar figure within the federation as he handled the national training camp in 2012-2016 under then chief Gita.

In this Wiranto’s tenure, the two-time All England Open champion and three-time World Championship winner is paired with 2004 Athens Olympics gold medalist Taufik Hidayat as sport development experts to help develop the women’s division, the training camp of which is now led by Lius Pongoh, who won a list of open tournaments circa 1980.

Meanwhile, 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medalist Ricky Subagja is teamed up with former national shuttler Carmelita in taking care of public relations and media affairs.

Susi’s husband, 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medalist Alan Budikusuma, is given the role of managing the sponsorship division.

A peculiar name however popped in Wiranto’s aides list: notorious businessman-turned-politician Nurdin Halid.

Nurdin, the former chief of the beleaguered Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and once a convict of a graft case, sits among the national figures in the federation’s advisory board alongside former PBSI chief Gita, shuttler legend Rudi Hartono and patron Justian Suhandinata.

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