AMPONTOONS.COM, MAGELANG – Polytron Superliga Junior 2023 is the right time to measure the mentality and ability of junior athletes to compete in a team format.
Not only for Indonesian clubs, this is also one of the main reasons why teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Chinese Taipei fly their athletes to compete in this prestigious league.
One of the foreign clubs that have come to the slopes of Mount Tidar is Banthongyord from Thailand. The club of two veteran Thai players, Ratchanok Intanon and Kunlavut Vitidsarn, has registered 17 athletes to compete in the Under-17 sector for both men and women.
On the opening day, the women’s team of the Bangkok club showed its strength by winning the first match with a score of 5-0 over one of the host representatives, Indihome Gideon Badminton Academy.
Continuing into the second match on Tuesday (9/5), Banthongyord who is in Group X managed to bag a second win in this team league.
Sakkaya Sootlake, the coach accompanying Banthongyord’s team, said, “Polytron Superliga Junior 2023 is a good opportunity for players to gain experience and compete against players from various countries.
Also for coaches, continued Sakkaya, the team championship, which adapts the team format of the Thomas and the Uber Cup, serves to evaluate the individual skills and mentality of each athlete. Furthermore, by competing in the Polytron Superliga Junior 2023, they will be able to ‘taste’ competition for the title, considering that many of Indonesia’s top clubs have taken part in this league.
“We came to Magelang to seek experience. Winning or losing is a matter for later. Gaining experience at the ‘core’ of badminton is what is important to us because the athletes we bring are all competing in Indonesia for the first time,” he said Sakkaya.
Sakkaya said, even though it was only at the junior level, overall, the competition was close from day one. She appreciated the fighting spirit of Indonesian badminton players after accompanying her team to compete against Cardinal Mutiara Bandung on the second day.
“Only at the junior level, in Indonesia, it is already very competitive. Badminton is a very popular sport in Indonesia. Not only the fans who come to the stadiums, but also in the cyberspace are very fond of badminton,” said this blonde man.
The fierce competition that drains the mindset and skills of these athletes is also recognized by the Singaporean camp. Playing in the Under-17 men’s sector, the Singapore team faced Banthongyord Thailand on Tuesday (8/5).
Though they narrowly lost 2-3, Singaporean coach Albert Saputra is thankful that his students are finally finding a competitive atmosphere, after all this time the pandemic has eliminated international matches at junior level.
“The 2023 Polytron Superliga Junior is a very worthwhile championship for the Singapore team. Our players can test their skills against tough opponents from Indonesia at U17 and U19 levels, and also train their mentality when facing opponents from other countries,” said the man who was born in Padang, West Sumatra.
Albert hopes his players continue to learn from every game, especially every defeat, to improve. Overall, competing with a number of strong countries is part of the long process of developing badminton in the Lion Country.
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