Istora Senayan losing its notoriety

It is not a bad day for Malaysian badminton fans today. We won two titles in the just only concluded Indonesia Open Super Series with Lee Chong Wei winning the men single and Wong & Chin won the women double. Not bad at all. Indonesian fans were clearly disappointed. Only Taufik Hidayat managed to get into the final but the aging golden boy of Indonesia has surely losing up steam against his younger opponent and went down tamely to Chong Wei in the final.

Istora Senayan used to be a fearful venue for non-Indonesia Badminton players for its notorious ground supports. I remember many years ago when Cheah Soon kit and Yap Kim Hock were playing against the Indonesia pairs, you could always hear the Indonesia crowds shouted “botak, botak” to distract Kim Hock. That was very disturbing indeed. It will take a steel mind to overcome the abusive boos and jeers of the enthusiastic fans of Indonesia. In the past, it seems impossible for non-Indonesia players to win the Indonesia Open because of the strong supports by the local fans. But for the past few years, it seemed that Istora Senayan was not as notorious as it used to be when their top players are fading and couldn’t even qualify for the finals. Taufik is aging and Sony is not good enough to succeed him. The double pairs are also not as deadly as before. This year in particular is a disappointment for Indonesia badminton fans as they won nothing.

I was amused when I saw the young Indonesian girls cheering and shouting in support for the good looking Lee Young-Dae of South Korea when he and his partner played against the Chinese pairs in the final of men double. I guess when you don’t have your own countrymen to support, it is not wrong to support the good looking one, just like I always support Maria Sharapova when watching tennis tournaments.