Maintaining the Badminton Players Regeneration Chain with Auditions

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The badminton ecosystem in Indonesia will continue to be maintained as regional clubs, as the primary actors in development, remain committed to producing future athlete candidates. The recruitment of athletes, such as the General Audition of the Djarum Badminton Association, is expected to be the initial effort to ensure the sustainability of this ecosystem and to keep the athlete regeneration chain unbroken.

This year, the General Audition of PB Djarum will be held again from September 18 to 12, 2025, at the Djarum Sports Hall in Jati, Kudus, Central Java. This annual audition typically serves as a platform for hundreds or even thousands of young badminton players from various regions to showcase their abilities.

The 2024 audition, for instance, was participated by 1,966 badminton players from three age groups. They consisted of male and female participants in the U-11 category (ages 8 – 10 years), 11 years old, and 12 years old.

The Chairman of PB Djarum, Yoppy Rosimin, hopes that there will be more participants who can showcase their abilities in this year's audition. The more opportunities that are available, the more participants will join, and the greater the chances of discovering potential badminton players.

"We believe there is still a lot of untapped potential. I hope they hear about this audition and prepare themselves to come forward and showcase their talents," said Yoppy at a press conference in Jakarta, Thursday (3/7/2025).

"With auditions and a commitment to hold them annually, we hope to contribute to maintaining the regeneration chain of badminton in Indonesia, and to preserve this ecosystem. Because it is from these regional clubs that the stars of badminton in the country emerge," he stated further.

The audition, which has been held since 2006, involves a talent scouting team led by the 1997 men's doubles world champion, Sigit Budiarto. The team also includes several living legends of Indonesian badminton, such as Fung Permadi, Yuni Kartika, Liliyana Natsir, Tontowi Ahmad, Lius Pongoh, Hariyanto Arbi, Richard Mainaky, and Maria Kristin.

Sigit stated that there is no difference in criteria for searching for potential athletes in this year's auditions compared to previous editions. The aspects considered remain the technical skills in playing badminton and the mental resilience of the young athletes.

"We started with these three age categories to align the formation in terms of physical, technical, and mental development. All of this requires time and is best initiated at these ages," said Sigit.

The 2025 PB Djarum General Audition selection series begins with a screening phase that adopts a 1-game knockout match system up to the 21st point (without deuce/setting). After this phase, the next stage is the tournament stage. For the men's category, the finalists will get tickets to the quarantine stage. While in the women's category, the ticket winners are the finalists in the tournament round.

The quarantine stage is held for four weeks (September 13 - October 11, 2025) with two elimination phases, aimed at assessing the potential and mentality of the athletes. Those who pass the quarantine stage will receive the Djarum Badminton Scholarship and join PB Djarum.

"From this quarantine, their consistency and resilience will be tested. When it comes to fighting spirit, that is easy. They can demonstrate it during auditions, with the euphoria of competition. However, after training for weeks, it is here that their determination will be evident," said Fung Permadi, the Indonesian men's singles player who won a silver medal at the 1999 World Championship.

Former Indonesian women's singles athlete, Yuni Kartika, emphasized that the purpose of training at clubs is not to produce as many athletes as possible to enter the national training center. Clubs in the regions serve as a bridge for quality badminton players to represent Indonesia in the future.

"The point is not to include as many athletes as possible in the national training center, but to develop super quality athletes who can make a greater impact in the world of badminton," said the junior world champion of 1991.