Half an Arm and a Whole Heart

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Suryo Nugroho

Since he was just 10 years old, Suryo Nugroho, 23, has played badminton with only “one-and-a-half” arms. His left arm had been amputated after a motorbike accident in 2006. Despite the tragedy, Suryo became a world champion in para-badminton.

Thunderous yells and applause filled the air at the Senayan Sports Complex in Jakarta on Thursday (28/6/2018) as hundreds of people cheered for their new idol, Suryo Nugroho, in his match against Dheva Anrimusthi in the finals of the SU-5 class (upper-body disability) of the trial for the 2018 Asian Para Games. Despite the full-house support, Suryo was eventually defeated by Deva, 22-24, 21-23.

“I was already at my limit. I was too tired and my body just could not be forced any longer. I’ve played five games today as the tournament is only two days long,” Suryo said.

Despite his defeat, Suryo was not too disappointed. At least, he has realized his childhood dream of playing at the sports complex, just like his hero, former badminton champion Taufik Hidayat.

Suryo was amazed. He still could not believe that the day had come for him to live his dream. This meant very much for him, especially after the tragic accident where he lost his left arm 12 years ago. The accident forced him to forget his dream of becoming a professional badminton player.

Suryo was not disabled at birth. At 10 years old, he was involved in a single-vehicle crash. At the time, he was in Papua for a badminton tournament. He was riding on a motorbike with his friend, who was driving, when the vehicle swerved and crashed. His left arm bone was crushed in the accident.

“The bones were severely damaged. The doctors said that, if they did nothing, my nerves system would be affected. They then decided to amputate my left arm up to the elbow,” Suryo said.

Suryo became a disabled person since then. It crushed his dream of becoming a badminton athlete. He quit from a local badminton club in Surabaya, with which he had played for three years. At first, Suryo refused to get out of his house. He could not take it when others talked about his arm. Suryo even quit school. At the time, he was a student at SDN Keprabon 2 state elementary school in Surabaya. His parents decided to home school him for a while.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Suryo Nugroho

“It was hard, very hard to change from a regular man to a disabled. I felt ashamed by my arm. At home with my mom and dad, at least it was better because nobody was making weird comments,” he explained.

Suryo’s father Slamet Riyanto and mother Suswati continued to encourage him through his bleakest period. His father, who had introduced him to badminton, encouraged him to get back to training. His mother was the one who consoled him day and night and pushed him to stop worrying about things.

Three years later, in 2009, Suryo found out that the National Paralympics Committee (NPC) had a special badminton training court for the disabled. That was when he thought that he should return to training.

Reborn

It was not easy to get back to training. Suryo needed to adjust himself to his new body. He felt like losing balance when he ran, hit or jumped. “It was difficult to rebalance my body. I spent three months just for that,” he said.

Slowly, his training gave him good results. In less than a year, Suryo emerged as champion in the 2009 National Paralympic Games (Peparnas) and the 2009 National Paralympic Students Games (Popcanas).

When Suryo was on the rise, he was heartbroken again when doctors told the family that his mother was suffering from lymphoma. He kept on training despite being distraught by thoughts of his mother.

In mid-2010, his mother died. At the time, Suryo left his training for a week. “I was sad and disappointed because my mother had yet to see me competing abroad. However, as my mother used to say, there is no use in crying for far too long,” he said.

Suryo decided to rise again. Two months after his mother died, he was called to join the NPC badminton national training camp (pelatnas). At just 15 years old, he was chosen to represent Indonesia in the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Suryo Nugroho

Suryo, then the youngest athlete in the Games, brought home a silver medal for his late mother. Since then, Suryo has devoted his life for badminton. He has always participated in all Asian and ASEAN Para Games since 2010. He will represent Indonesia in the upcoming Asian Para Games in October.

Suryo’s latest achievement was becoming world champion in South Korea in late 2017. The victory brought Suryo to Rank 4 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) para-badminton ranking.

Own money

Suryo went to South Korea using his own money and donation from the NPC. He spent a total of Rp 12 million (US$836.94). He said that government’s appreciation had been minimal despite having represented Indonesia in international games. “There is no gift and no bonus. I go to championships with my own money. It’s fine with me,” Suryo said.

Suryo will shell out Rp 40 million to participate in a BWF tournament in Australia in November. Despite his reluctance, he needs the point from the Australian tournament in the hope of making it to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Suryo has to use his own money to participate in prominent championships as the NPC and the Youth and Sports Ministry only fund his participation in one championship every year. In 2018 alone, Suryo plans to be in three championships.

Nevertheless, all of these will not be enough to secure a ticket to play at the Tokyo Paralympics. Of the 13 championships in the BWF calendar, Suryo has to participate in at least five. This is necessary to secure a ticket to Tokyo. To get the Rp 40 million, Suryo sets aside portions of his monthly allowance from the Asian Para Games pelatnas that he has obtained since January. From the Rp 15 million he gets every month, he sets aside Rp 10 million.

“What can I do? Paralympics and badminton is my dream and my future,” he said.

So far, Suryo shows no sign of slowing down.