Athletes told to commit to SEA Games goals<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
With a target of six golds in the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA)
\nGames later this year, the Athletics Association of Indonesia
\n(PASI) is telling its 50 athletes to do what is required to reach
\nthe goal.<\/p>\n
That includes maintaining a disciplined attitude toward their
\ntraining and taking a course of pricey vitamin supplements for
\npeak performance.<\/p>\n
\"PASI chairman Bob Hasan hopes that Indonesia will win more
\nthan its four golds from the 2003 SEA Games,\" PASI head of
\ndevelopment affairs Budi Dharma Sidi said last week. \"He
\nexpects six golds and we will try to fulfill that.\"<\/p>\n
However, in the current training camps in Jakarta,
\nPangalengan, West Java, and Salatiga in Central Java, several
\nathletes have failed to show the desired progress.<\/p>\n
\"Some aren't disciplined in their training, others don't take
\ntheir vitamins,\" he said. \"But we also see that some athletes
\nhave shown progress in their training.\"<\/p>\n
Budi vowed to dismiss athletes who failed to change their
\nattitude, saying the benefits of sticking to the program were
\nclearly seen.<\/p>\n
\"Look at John Herman Muray, he is already 27 years old, but he
\nkeeps making progress,\" he said.<\/p>\n
John won the 100 meters sprint in two of the three legs of the
\nrecent Asian Athletics Grand Prix, setting a personal best along
\nthe way.<\/p>\n
\"I want gold in the SEA Games,\" the Papuan, who won bronze in
\n2003 in Hanoi, said. \"I have more confidence after winning the
\nGrand Prix and now take the vitamins to help improve my
\nperformance.\"<\/p>\n
Budi also noted the improvement of Deysie Sumigar, who won the
\nwomen's 100 meters at the National Athletics Championships in
\nlate July.<\/p>\n
\"Deysie is the fastest 100 meter sprinter we have and she
\nproved that by winning the nationals,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Also doing well are Jauhari Johan in the 10,000 meters and
\nwomen's 1,500 meter runner Olivia Sadi, whose nationals' time of
\n4:19.48 shaved just over two seconds off the eight-year-old mark
\nof Supriati Sutono.<\/p>\n
But Budi was disappointed with the poor progress of 110-meter
\nhurdler Edi Zakaria, whose best performance was at the Athens
\nOlympics last year.<\/p>\n
Budi hoped the athletes could continue to improve their
\nperformance and peak at the SEA Games in November.<\/p>\n
\"One more thing that I want to stress is that we continue to
\nremind athletes to take vitamins, which are good for them. We
\nspent Rp 2 million per athlete per month for the vitamins, with
\nthe aim of improving their nutrition,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The association also wants to hire a top foreign coach for the
\nfinal stretch before the SEA Games in November.<\/p>\n
\"We are now seeking a coach from Europe, and East Asia like
\nJapan.\"<\/p>\n
PASI is putting its gold medal hopes on hurdler Edi, men's
\npole vaulter Nunung Jayadi, women's marathon runner Feri Marince
\nSubnafeu, the men's javelin throw, the women's hammer throw and
\nAhmad Sakeh in the men's 800 meters.<\/p>\n
Budi said athletics competition in the region was relatively
\nequal at present, with each country boasting particular
\nspecialities.<\/p>\n
Athletes from the Philippines, for example, excel at the long
\njump and middle distance divisions, while Thai athletes are
\nstrong in the sprints.<\/p>\n
Singaporean athletes are outstanding in throw events,
\nespecially after several Chinese athletes migrated to the city-
\nstate, while athletes from Vietnam are improving.<\/p>\n
Budi said an invitational event in Singapore in September,
\nwith all the regional hopefuls competing, would provide an
\naccurate view of Indonesia's medal chances.<\/p>\n
\"In that event, we will have the big picture of whether our
\ntraining is working well or not. We will also see in Singapore
\nwho our tough opponents will be,\" he said.<\/p>",
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