They Lived Like Kings, Now Their Lives are Miserable

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Former national gymnast, Amin Ikhsan (right), trains his students at Persani Building, West Java, Bandung City, Sunday (12/9/2021).

The stories about the gloomy lives of former athletes who once made their region and country proud does not end. Once victorious in the sports arena and full of achievements, they now face hard lives after retirement.

Former national gymnast Amin Ikhsan (48), who is now a trainer, sat more often than not when training young gymnasts in Bandung, West Java, on Sunday (12/9/2021). The kidney failure he had been suffering these seven years had forced him to cut down on strenuous physical activity. His right leg is swollen, so he delivered the training instructions mostly orally with simple choreography.

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He was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2014, when he was taken to the hospital after he collapsed following the West Java Regional Sports Week in Bekasi. He decided to retire as a professional athlete.

Amin has made a number of international achievements during his career, including ranking 7th at the 2004 Aerobic World Cup in Japan and 5th at the 2005 Asian Indoor Games in Thailand. He has also won various medals representing West Java at the National Games and national tournaments.

He received bonuses for his achievements and used the money to build a house, a music studio and three rental houses in the Kiaracondong area of the city of Bandung. He relied on these assets after he retired. The income he made from renting the houses and music studio, around Rp 10 million per month, was sufficient to support his daily life and medical treatments.

He managed to survive by pitching a tent on the site of the eviction. He then sold the rubble from the dismantled buildings to make a living.

However, his story took a tragic turn in August 2015. The Bandung municipal administration evicted a number of buildings, including his, because the houses stood on state land. The Bandung administration offered Amin a rusun (low-cost apartment) to live in, but he refused. He managed to survive by pitching a tent on the site of the eviction. He then sold the rubble from the dismantled buildings to make a living.

As he never received any certainty about compensation for his dismantled house, Amin took his family to another house he owned in Cimenyan, Bandung regency, that was originally built for his father-in-law. Now, they live together there.

“When we moved, the house was still under construction. The roof was not finished yet. So when it rained, it often flooded,” he recalled.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Former national gymnast, Amin Ikhsan (center), trains his students at Persani Building, West Java, Bandung City, Sunday (12/9/2021).

He no longer has a steady income. His savings dwindled as a result of his medical expenses. His family now relies on his wife, Puput Finalista (47), who is an employee at a garment factory. In fact, Amin must undergo dialysis three times a week.

The cost of the dialysis is covered by the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan). However, he has to cover the cost of his supplements and medicines. He also has to cover the transportation fee of Rp 720,000 every month. In addition, he also needs to cover oxygen, which costs around Rp 120,000 per week. He said he had a sleep disorder and that the oxygen helped him breathe better.

“The cost of supplements, accommodation and others [totals] around Rp 3 million. If I my house, studio and rental homes were not seized, my income would still be sufficient. Now, it is very hard,” said Amin, who realizes that he was not the only athlete who had experienced the bitterness of life after retirement.

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Likewise Karni (53), a former rower from Blora, Central Java, who won three gold medals at the 1996 Dragon Boat World Championships and the 1997 SEA Games, has a similar story. In her old age, she continues to struggle with a number of menial jobs, such as farming and maintaining the swimming pool as an honorary employee of the Blora regency administration.

"[I have to] make additional income. Because now, yes, my life relies on debt after debt. I still have debt from a bank [loan] as well as from relatives," Karni said on Friday (10/9) after tidying up some plants belonging to a neighbor.

Her monthly honorarium of Rp 1.3 million is used almost entirely to pay her debts to the bank, which she hoped she would pay off soon.

She was anxious because in five years, she would have to retire from being non-permanent employee, so she had no pension. Her monthly honorarium of Rp 1.3 million is used almost entirely to pay her debts to the bank, which she hoped she would pay off soon. She had a simple goal: buy cattle for her old age.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Former national gymnast, Amin Ikhsan (right), demonstrates gymnastic movements while training his students at Persani Building, West Java, Bandung City, Sunday (12/9/2021).

“I am sick now because I was too tired when I was an athlete. When you excelled [in sports], you were treated like a king. Everything was provided for. Now, you have to pay for everything yourself,” Amin said, bitterly.

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko).