X Ball, sorry, didn't have a chance to reply to this one sooner...but noticed a couple others have replied, which i'm glad also... Anyways, what sabathiel and rudytjip posted are true & the most common/most known reasons. Esp. about Tony's "reason" to move to U.S. is the most common/heard reason of him moving to the U.S. Although what taufik-ist wrote also has been heard before. Actually there are other posts in this forum which mentioned abt this issue, hmm, i have to find them and give you the links. Now regarding your inquiry which i've put in bold, he did the latter didn't he??..Why Tony didn't want to stay in Indo and use his "stature" like Rudy Hartono and coach etc2, well, his and Rudy's case are different. To add to what rudytjip mentioned(reason #4 & #5), if Tony would have stayed and used his stature to become coach, i don't think he will be as well respected and well-paid. Just take a look at their current coaches who used to play for the national team (ie. Christian Hadinata, Joko Supriyanto and others), see how they are being treated. Or even take a look at Rexy Mainaky, eventhough he was a hero in his days, but he decided to coach overseas. So, in a way, becoming a coach as a career there at PBSI is not "worth it". I'm sure you know this also, unless one has the "power" or a lot of "connection" with the "well-known" people in Indonesia, you can forget abt becoming a well-know or respected individual.. Thus that's why he decided to do the latter and move/"follow" his wife to the U.S. whilst he had a chance..
Yes, thanks guys for the answers to my questions on Gunawan. The 'mud' has cleared. Economically, I agree that is the right move. But watching the IO, I get this feeling that a lot of Indonesians like him to stay -- he has the people POWER so to speak. Well, whichever path he takes, he is a winner.
IBF rules are pretty flexible, you don't need to be a citizen of a country to play for that country. Remember at one stage Taufik Hidayat threatened PBSI that he would play for Singapore if his demands are not met. As far as I know Tony didn't migrate to the US and is on a student visa. I doubt that he got a green card either since it takes many years to get one and is very hard. There must be some arrangement between IBF, PBSI and the US Badminton Association to allow Tony to play for the USA.
Don't worry, I'm sure the USA has plenty of money to throw around to promote badminton and pay Tony Gunawan.
