Vantaa: After travelling for about 14 hours from Jakarta with a transit in Istanbul, Turkey, the Indonesian Sudirman Cup team has landed safely at Helsinki Airport International Airport in Vantaa, Finland on Wednesday.
Although the Turkish Airlines in which Indonesian badminton players boarded failed to land at the airport in its first attempt and had to do a go-around for another attempted landing. The plane eventually landed safely in its second attempt.
Indonesia’s World No. 2 men’s doubles player – Mohammad Ahsan revealed that passengers became overwhelmed with anxiety during the incident.
“I was shocked and panicked because it was very close to landing on the runway, but suddenly the plane picked up speed and took off again. Alhamdulillah, in the next attempt the plane was able to land well and we all are safe,” said Ahsan.
Indonesia’s World No. 4 mixed doubles player – Melati Daeva Oktavianti thought there was an error in the landing procedure.
“I was very scared. Why did the plane suddenly fly again even though it was about to land? I thought maybe there was an error or something. Thank God everybody is safe,” said Oktavianti.
The 38-member Indonesian team eventually landed at Helsinki Airport International Airport safely, and the team was determined to bring the Sudirman Cup home.
“All team members are in high spirit. This certainly shows that the players, coaches, and support teams are comfortable and ready to win the Sudirman Cup,” said team manager Eddy Prayitno.
The Indonesian had undergone the COVID-19 antigen test and the results will be sent to the cellphones of each team member on Thursday. All team members were asked to rest especially after a 14-hour flight while waiting for the results from their COVID-19 test.
