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Indonesia's PB Djarum badminton club temporarily halts audition
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Indonesia's PB Djarum badminton club logo. (pbdjarum.org/pbdjarum.org)
I
ndonesia’s leading badminton club, PB Djarum, has decided to halt its annual general audition following a deadlock in discussions with the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) over the commission’s objection to the use of the Djarum cigarette brand on the participants’ shirts.
“We will be halting the audition starting next year. This year will be the last audition,” Djarum Foundation sport director Yoppie Rosimin told a press conference in Purwokerto, Central Java, on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.
He acknowledged that the decision would be tough on some but sought to assure the public that PB Djarum could handle the situation. As a club, he went on, PB Djarum would still operate and train students.
“The [suspension] is temporary. We need to discuss every option,” he told The Jakarta Post.
PB Djarum started the audition in 2006. Since then, thousands of youngsters would flock to the annual open audition.
They seek to prove that they deserve the scholarship to train with the club, dreaming of following in the glorious footsteps of many top players brought forth by the club.
Many top Indonesian shuttlers train with PB Djarum. Living legends like Lilyana ‘Butet’ Natsir, who, along with her partner Tontowi Ahmad, championed top stages like the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the All England and the BWF World Championship, come from PB Djarum. Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo, Liem Swie King and Muhammad Ahsan are among the country’s top players who still or in the past trained at PB Djarum.
