In my view this week the best championships in two different racket sports are organised. Monday the third Grand Slam of the year starts on the “holy grass†of Wimbledon and on Tuesday in Jakarta the Indonesia Open starts which is the second Super Serie counting for the Olympic qualification.
I believe that every top tennis player will dream of winning the Wimbledon tournament at least once in his life and in our sport it is exactly the same with the All England, the “Wimbledon of Badmintonâ€. As far as I am concerned there still is one other tournament in the world which beats the All England in terms of atmosphere.
In 2009 I played in this tournament myself. Playing a Super Serie tournament in Asia only makes sense when you are admitted directly to the main tournament. In the summer of 2009 my then-partner Jurgen Wouters and I were ranked 26 on the world ranking which was sufficient to be admitted to the main draw of this unique tournament. In the first round Koo and Tan were our opponents and we lost.
At firts sight the Istora Senayan stadium looks a bit old and not well-kept but as soon as you come inside it all breathes an air of badminton. You simply feel that here the best matches in the history of badminton were played and I remember that it gave me a boost of inspiration. Istora Senayan has a capacity of around 7000 seats. But during this event very few people sit down and that’s why the organisation allows more people in than the maximum capacity. During almost all matches the fans are dancing and singing on the tribunes. The spectators dress themselves in the most creative way. Here badminton is appreciated as it is nowhere else in the world, here our sport is pure entertainment. The fans know all players and they shout your name when you are warming up. That’s very stimulating for almost every one except when you are from Malaysia. When the Malaysian players are announced (except Lee Chong Wei) there is an atmosphere which is almost threatening and they are spit at from the tribunes. No Malaysia and Indonesia are not exactly friends which is very much emphasized during this event. And then the sounds during the rallies, the many YAAA’s and BOEEE’s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcqpaQoN5Tw) but always laughing faces combined with singing and dancing. How nice it would be if we could have only 10 percent of this atmosphere during the Dutch Open, our own Grand Prix tournament.
It’s a pity that the Indonesian Open is not on Dutch TV because if it was I would probably be nailed to my chair watching. Fortunately it coincides with that other event where they use a bit bigger rackets and balls instead of shuttles. Also very entertaining, as long as Federer wins!!!
