Boxing body replaces Paene for Cuba stint<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association has
\ndropped flyweight La Paene Masara from a pre-Asian Games training
\nstint in Cuba after missing regular workouts for a week without
\ngiving notice.<\/p>\n
The association's chairman, Sang Nyoman Suwisma, said on
\nThursday less experienced Damianus Jordan had been named a last
\nminute replacement for La Paene, who is a 1997 Southeast Asian
\nGames gold medalist.<\/p>\n
\"I'm very disappointed with his departure. He violated
\ndisciplinary rules four times during the training program for the
\nupcoming Asian Games,\" Suwisma said.<\/p>\n
Damianus, an Asian Championships bronze medalist, will join
\nfeatherweight Hermansen Ballo, welterweight Bara Gomies and
\nmiddleweight Albert Papilaya in the two-month overseas training
\nprogram. They will leave the country on Sunday.<\/p>\n
But Suwisma said the door remained open for La Paene, the only
\nIndonesian boxer who reached the quarterfinals in the Atlanta
\nOlympic Games in 1996, to return to the Asian Games training camp
\nat the Pencak Silat dormitory in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I still consider him a member of the team who will represent
\nIndonesia in the Asiad,\" Suwisma said.<\/p>\n
La Paene was among the country's leading athletes who received
\ngovernment awards during a National Sports Day celebration in
\nSurabaya on Sept. 9. But he parted with his team and has yet to
\nshow up at the training camp since then.<\/p>\n
He said the boxer had previously complained about family
\nproblems. \"I told him to call me anytime he had problems, but he
\nnever did,\" said Suwisma, who is chief of Tanjungpura Military
\nCommand overseeing Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Coaches Julio Lee Hechavarria of Cuba and Wiem Gomies will
\nalso accompany the boxing quartet.<\/p>\n
\"They can train together with Cuban boxers, who are being
\ngroomed for the World Junior Boxing Championships in Argentina
\nlate this year,\" Hechavarria said.<\/p>\n
Ballo, one of the three Indonesian boxers who won 1997 SEA
\nGames gold medals, said the Asiad would serve as a stepping stone
\nfor the 2000 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n
\"My main target is to qualify for the 2000 Olympics, so I have
\nto win in the Asiad,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Suwisma said the Cuban stint would cost the boxing body Rp 350
\nmillion (US$31,820). The money came from businesspeople, he said.<\/p>\n
Volleyball<\/p>\n
The National Sports Council announced later on Thursday that
\nit would send the men's volleyball team to the Asiad to replace
\nthe national soccer team.<\/p>\n
\"Volleyball is the second most popular sport in the country
\nafter soccer,\" said Mochamad Hindarto, the national team training
\ndirector, explaining the reason for the volleyball team's
\ninclusion.<\/p>\n
He said the national spikers, who finished third in the Asian
\nChampionships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July, were expected to at
\nleast reach the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
The council is doubtful the volleyball team can win any medals
\nin the Asiad, according to Hindarto. \"They won the Asian
\nChampionships bronze in the absence of the continent's
\nheavyweights, China and South Korea.\"<\/p>\n
Hindarto said the national volleyball team deserved a place in
\nthe contingent bound to Bangkok because of its SEA Games winning
\ntradition since 1981. It just missed the gold in 1985 and 1995.<\/p>\n
Indonesian spikers were absent in the last two Asian Games in
\n1990 and 1994.<\/p>\n
Volleyball training director Suharsono said the decision would
\nboost the sport's development in the future.<\/p>\n
\"Our target is to improve our ranking of 10th in the 1986
\nAsiad,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The top seeds at the Asiad are China, Japan, South Korea and
\nTaiwan. Other strong opponents for Indonesia are Iran,
\nKazakhstan, Thailand, India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Suharsono said his team plan to train in Changdu and Guangzhou
\nin China for two weeks next month. (yan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/boxing-body-replaces-paene-for-cuba-stint-1447893297",
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