OUR VOICE TO BWF AND THE UK GOVERNMENT

 

Even though I promise to write an article once a month, I couldn’t do it. Yes, it is so difficult to do. However, I would like to write my opinion about what happened yesterday with the UK Government’s anomaly decision to Indonesian badminton player. It is just an opinion from a badminton lover.

 

Yes, there is a sudden decision from the UK government and BWF that makes Indonesian citizen really angry. So, what is it? The UK Government and BWF decided to halt all Indonesian player participating in All England 2021 because inside the plane that the Indonesian players took, there was a positive Covid-19 patient. Following the regulation from the UK government, the Indonesian player should be isolated for 10 days. It looks like there is no problem with this decision. However, many rumours and issues go out. First, the Indonesian team had arrived in the UK ten days ago, which means if something suspicious happens, it should happen within the days. Second, the UK Government and BWF announced this decision after the Indonesian player had a match for round 32. All of them won the game. Third, among 24 Indonesian athletes are just 20 athletes who got the UK Government’s message to be isolated for 10 days. So, what about the rest?

 

Now, the Indonesian Badminton Association and, of course, the Indonesian netizen have so many unanswered questions. Firstly, the athletes have been vaccinated before the match twice. We understand that this global pandemic issue is still a homework for all the part of the world, but what is actually the UK Government regulation? Would it still be suspicious that the athletes may be carriers of the virus even after the vaccination? Yes, it may because no exact answered yet for this pandemic. However, please be wise. Second, why did BWF announce the decision after the Indonesian player did the round 32 match? I may have kind of speculation here but, it is better to wait for their press conference. Third, the athletes have been there (in England) for 10 days, which means they might have close contact with so many people around. It is not only Indonesian athlete but also other staffs. Fourth, it is just 20 athletes that should be isolated. Then, how about the 4 remaining athletes? They went together in the same airplane, so what is the NHS standard to decide the close contact person? The UK Government also did not yet publish or let the Indonesian team knows who the patient is. Last, why does the UK Government not test the athletes instead of isolating them for 10 days?

 

All the facts above make the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) really disappointed. Even the president of PBSI told implicitly that they might be afraid that the Indonesian team will be the top winner in this tournament as all the athletes are in peak performance now. The association makes an effort to ask and get a clear explanation from the UK Government and BWF about this condition. They would like to ensure that there is no discrimination against the athletes.

 

The BWF finally announced on their official Instagram telling the condition of this decision. They said that NHS decision could not be negotiable. However, that makes the Indonesian netizen sad; why do they continue all the competition when there is a controversial decision? There are positive and negative speculation here. They don’t want to stop the competition as it might hurt other countries’ athlete. On the negative, it could be a trick between BWF and the UK Government. We never know the truth if we are not in the discussion.

 

This condition and situation might also affect athletes. As BWF regulation, All England competition is one of the tournaments that will be calculated for Tokyo Olympic. Indonesian athletes have been trained for a year for this tournament. The athletes’ psychology might be affected too. Thus, as Indonesian badminton lover, we will always support our athletes as they deserve to get it. I also believe that there will always a bright future for our badminton athletes. Besides, I always believe that PBSI will do their best to sacrifice our athlete’s right as it is our country’s pride. However, one message to the UK Government and BWF. “We know that the world is not okay now. We know that all the countries face the hard time to save their citizen life, economic, and community. However, please make a clear definition and explanation for every decision you announced. So, others will not think that you discriminate against them. Sport is about sportively. Sport is also about fairness and equality. Please be wise as we live together in this old world!”