After getting good news from Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who won a bronze medal in Badminton, there is bad news from the Paris Olympics 2024.
The Indonesian badminton team was left in shock and disbelief when they experienced a theft incident. The thieves stole a staggering IDR 950 million.
The official announcement uploaded on the @tim.adhoc.pbsi Instagram account stated that a theft incident occurred in Paris on Monday, August 5, 2024, at around 5:30 pm local time.
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The money is a combination of several members of the 53-person badminton team, including athletes and officials.
The incident began when Armand Darmadji, the manager of the Indonesian badminton team, was in the car with his partner, Shendy Puspita Irawati.
“The plan is that we will meet with the team at 19.00, but on the way, the money has disappeared, taken by the theft syndicate,” explained Armand.
Suddenly, an unknown person told them their car had a flat tire. Hearing this, Armand and Shendy immediately got out of the car.
Because the tire was flat, Armand contacted the car rental to have it replaced. The rental asked for the location of the incident.
Armand was alone while Shendy went to the store to buy the team’s needs. Not really understanding the rental owner’s explanation, Armand reported the incident to the police on duty near the location.
Coincidentally, a policeman was only three meters away from Armand. After talking to the police, Armand discovered that the bag in his car was missing.
The bag contained cash for the team, credit cards, and passports.
Armand explained that the theft incident did not interfere with the Indonesian badminton athletes’ return plan to the country.
The Indonesian badminton players and officials will depart Paris for Indonesia on August 7.
Theft at the Paris Olympics
Actually, this is one of many thefts at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Several thefts have previously occurred at the Olympic Athletes’ Village, which is built on 2.5 hectares and includes the communes of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, and L’Île-Saint-Denis.
One of the theft victims was a rugby player from Japan who lost his wedding ring, necklace, and cash worth around 3,000 euros.
Australia’s Olympic champion in BMX cycling, Logan Martin, also lost some equipment and personal belongings after the team van was broken into in Belgium while he was preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
