Gymnasts set for Romanian outing<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Gymnastics Association (Persani) will send 10
\nyoung gymnasts to Romania for a two-year training camp starting
\nnext month.<\/p>\n
Persani secretary-general Asep Sulaeman said the 10 athletes
\nwould be training under reputable Romanian coaches with a view to
\nenhancing their medal prospects at the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA)
\nGames and the 2006 Asian Games.<\/p>\n
\"Romania (gymnastics federation) is very serious about our
\nouting program. It has a reputation as one of the best countries
\nin gymnastics,\" he said here on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"They have shown their concern for Indonesian gymnasts. They
\nhope we will not falter any more in Asian or international
\ncompetitions after we return home from the training,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Two officials will be sent in advance to work on the
\npreparation of the training.<\/p>\n
\"We will send them on Nov. 6. They will be there for four or
\nfive days,\" Asep said.<\/p>\n
However, Asep refused to disclose the names of the athletes
\nsaying that they had yet to finalize the list with the National
\nSports Council (KONI).<\/p>\n
The association has stipulated that the trainees should be
\nunder 22 years of age for men and under 17 for women.<\/p>\n
A shortlist has been formed based on the athletes' performance
\nat the national gymnastics championship early this year and the
\nNational Games (PON) in Palembang in September.<\/p>\n
Asep said four cities in Romania had already been selected as
\nthe training bases. The cities are capital city Bucharest,
\nConstanta, Baya Mare and Deva.<\/p>\n
The Romanian outing is part of Persani's long-term development
\ngoal to send skilled athletes to participate in international
\ntournaments.<\/p>\n
Critics say gymnasts in Indonesia are an aging population as
\nindicated in the recent PON where Jonathan Sianturi, 33, Sepri
\nHaryadi, 25, Lulu Manurung, 31, and Zahari, 26, still dominated
\nthe competition.<\/p>\n
Only few young gymnasts like Devri Chandra, 20, and M. Aldila
\nAkbar, 22, were able to compete with their seniors to win golds
\nin the 2004 PON.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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