PBSI Chairman Fadil Imran stated here on Thursday that this expectation arose, as the PON regulation this time does not allow badminton athletes who have participated in the nationalized training (Pelatnas) to contest in PON.
This condition differs from the 2021 Papua PON in which 32 national trained athletes participated, of which 10 came from Jakarta Province.
"We have made a regulation that national trained players cannot play in PON. This is to give room for local and young athletes to show their talents," Imran remarked at the final match of the 2024 PON badminton.
The 21st PON final badminton match was held at the North Sumatra PBSI Sports Hall.
Amid the non-participation of national players, he expected that the PON would be a golden opportunity to find new seeds in badminton, which is Indonesia's mainstay sport.
Imran expressed hope that the new players would be successors to Indonesia's top badminton players who have been trained at the national level, such as Jonatan Christie, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
The PBSI chair also expected that the PON could produce athletes who could potentially win gold in the Olympics later.
"We, at the (PBSI) central board, monitor this so that we can oversee the sustainability of the national training player recruitment from now on," he remarked.
He affirmed that the PON badminton matches also open up opportunities for regions to showcase their best badminton talents.
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Translator: Zaro S, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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