VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia was excluded from the All England 2021 Badminton competition because on a flight that was boarded by Indonesian athletes from Istanbul to Birmingham, a passenger tested positive for Covid-19. Certainly, this is not good news for Indonesia.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, this prohibition makes sense if it is applied equally to other participants. However, the fact is that some participants from other countries, who are on the same plane, can still participate in the match. Has the Badminton World Federation -BWF acted discriminatively against the Indonesian contingent? BWF stated that the decision for the Indonesian badminton contingent to self-isolate was not theirs. It was made directly by the National Health Service (NHS) of the British Government, which saw the Indonesian team being on one plane with a passenger who was positive for Covid-19. The NHS also gave a message to all Indonesian team players and officials to undergo quarantine for 10 days. Even though all Indonesian players have carried out a series of tests and the results are negative. The isolation rules are also applied to Indonesian players, such as Hendra / Ahsan, Jonatan Christie and Kevin / Marcus who have come out as winners in the first round of All England 2021.

The General Chairperson of the Indonesian Badminton Association, Agung Firman Sampurna is now continuing to strive so that the Indonesian Team can still join the competition. He contacted Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi to facilitate so that the Indonesian contingent can continue in the All England 2021. Then, Minister Retno gave some directions to ensure that there is no discrimination and unfair treatment of the Indonesian participation in the event. In a statement, the Indonesian Embassy in London explained that the British government still imposes a lockdown and strict health protocols in every activity. The All-England tournament was held with a special arrangement, tight and closed without spectators.

The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed changed many things, including the rules for sport tournaments. The procedures and stages of conducting matches are added with the Covid-19 test which inevitably has to be passed and made the basic stages. However, if the regulations are not enforced equally or differently between institutions in one country, this will create confusion and threaten the spirit of sportsmanship.

This discriminatory action triggered the resignation of a Turkish badminton athlete from the All England 2021 event. Neslihan Yigit, is known to have resigned or walked out from the YONEX All England Open 2021 competition on Thursday (18/3) afternoon Indonesian time. Previously, it was reported that Neslihan Yigit could still compete in the All England 2021 competition even though he was on the same plane as the Indonesian Badminton Team. It seems that Neslihan is uncomfortable with the conditions that befell Indonesian badminton team.

Indonesia is certainly waiting for the follow-up development of Minister Retno's diplomatic communication with the British Government regarding this matter. Hopefully, the best results will come out to uphold the sportsmanship and good diplomatic relations established so far.