By Ami Afriatni
Denpasar: World-class shuttlers started their campaign in the Djarum Superliga 2015 in Bali on Sunday and local badminton officials hope the event will boost the sport’s development on the island.
Local fans and shuttlers will get a treat as top shuttlers from Asia and Europe play in the eight-day event at Denpasar’s Lila Bhuana sports hall.
I Dewa Agung Gede Lidartawan, a senior official of the Indonesia Badminton Association’s (PBSI) Bali office, said it would be a rare chance for local shuttlers to watch their idols play.
“We usually only host local tournaments. Now, by hosting the Superliga, we are taking a step further. It’s an international tournament we’ve been longing for here,” Lidartawan said on Saturday.
“We will surely not waste such rare a opportunity. We will bring our talented young shuttlers to watch these top players display their skills. We are proud to host the tournament. I hope there will be more of these events in the future.”
With Indonesia’s sports development focused primarily in Java, Bali has been trailing behind. But local officials have been working hard to narrow the gap between their own players and their Java-based counterparts.
As a result, shuttlers from the Island of the Gods have climbed up the ladder and shone in recent youth tournaments.
“We’ve built a good relationship with the [PBSI] to boost the sport’s development [ in Bali],” Lidartawan said.
“Our athletes have already started to show promising progress. Two of our young shuttlers won last year’s Junior Masters, which was organized by PBSI as a part of their talent search. We also won the National Tournament. Though we lost at the inaugural Youth Games in Surabaya last year, our players show good prospects.”
The Superliga moved to Bali after two successful years in Surabaya and Lidartawan added that he hoped the event will stay on the island for years to come.
He also suggested PBSI to move next year’s tournament to October to coincide with Bali Sports Week.
“The local government is focusing on promoting Bali as one of the country’s sports tourism destinations, so if the move can be organized, the event would be huge,” Lidartawan said.
Jakarta Globe
