The Malaysia Star newspaper has boldly predicted a medal sweep for rival indonesia in the upcoming Asian Sea Games.
“INDONESIA are looking good for a clean sweep of all seven gold medals at stake in badminton. And Malaysia will have to slog very hard indeed to even steal one of them.
Besides having a solid team, Indonesia also have good incentive and great motivation to accomplish the feat – a gold medal is worth RM80,000.
And their seriousness in wanting to make an impact in the Laos Games was underlined by the withdrawal of their top players from the US$500,000 Super Series Masters Finals in Johor Baru last week.
Malaysia’s doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky said that Indonesia had always treated the SEA Games as one of their main tournaments.
“For Indonesians, it is a privilege and honour to represent their country. And the government honours their commitment by giving out rewards lavishly,” said Rexy, an Indonesian.
“Besides the RM80,000 reward, the athletes can also look forward to good job opportunities and sometimes land is also given to the winners. The SEA Games is a big thing in Indonesia.
“With strong support and backing, nothing will stop Indonesian players from going all out in the SEA Games.
“It will be an achievement for Malaysia to beat Indonesia at their best.”
