Indonesia looks for three golds in Athens Olympics<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Sports Council (KONI) will send 39 athletes to
\nthe Athens Olympics in the hope of winning at least three gold
\nmedals, according to a top KONI official.<\/p>\n
KONI secretary-general Djohar Arifin said here on Monday that
\nmedal hopes would rest not only on badminton but also
\nweightlifting and tae kwon do.<\/p>\n
\"We have a good chance of winning gold medals in these three
\nsports,\" he said at his office.<\/p>\n
While lifters and tae kwon doins have yet to prove themselves,
\nshuttlers have, since 1992, been the only contenders ever to earn
\nIndonesia gold medals.<\/p>\n
However, Indonesian shuttlers will head to Athens against the
\nbackdrop of a wane in performance, which culminated in their
\nfailure to retain the Thomas Cup in May.<\/p>\n
The failure contributed largely to the ouster of Chairul
\nTanjung, now replaced by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso as the
\nchairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).<\/p>\n
The 2000 gold medalists are not in the team, either, with
\nCandra Wijaya failing to make the team and Tony Gunawan already
\nchanging allegiance for the United States.<\/p>\n
Djohar tried to be optimistic, urging the current crop of
\nshuttlers to be inspired by the past team's achievements that
\nresulted in two golds at Barcelona and one apiece at Atlanta and
\nSydney.<\/p>\n
Djohar said Indonesia's weightlifting medal hopes would be
\nstrongest in the under-48 kilogram category, while mentioning
\nSatrio Rahadani as the best tae kwon do prospect.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 39-strong contingent is made up of badminton, with
\n14 players, followed by weightlifting (7), swimming (3), tae kwon
\ndo (2), athletics (2), archery (2), tennis (2), judo (1), boxing
\n(1), canoeing (1), rowing (1), cycling (1), shooting (1) and
\nwind-surfing (1).<\/p>\n
Some 30 officials will accompany the athletes. The team will
\nbe inaugurated officially on Aug. 3.<\/p>\n
The majority of athletes will depart for Athens from Jakarta
\non Aug. 8, but judo and wind-surfing athletes are expected to
\nhead to the Olympics directly after their overseas training.<\/p>\n
KONI promises Rp 1 billion (US$107,500) in bonuses for gold
\nmedalists, plus Rp 500 million and Rp 250 million respectively
\nfor winners of silver and bronze medals.<\/p>\n
\"The athletes are in good shape, but we still need to improve
\nour players' fighting spirit to meet the Olympic challenge,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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