Indonesian best climber has doubts about victory<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's world champion speed climber, Etti Hendrawati, is
\nreluctant to rate her chances of victory at the 10th Asian Sports
\nClimbing Championships, taking place on Saturday and Sunday at
\nthe Eastern Plaza of the Bung Karno Sports Complex, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Etti, whose most recent international achievement was a
\nvictory in the Asia Cup Speed Climbing Championships in Kunming,
\nChina in March, said on Friday that she had had just two weeks'
\npreparation for the event.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not setting any targets for myself due to my poor
\npreparation. I will just concentrate and climb,\" she told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
Her busy schedule ahead of this weekend's Championships
\nincluded the national championships in Tanjung Pinang in Riau
\nlast month, where she won.<\/p>\n
The weekend meet will feature speed and difficulty events for
\nboth genders.<\/p>\n
Etti expected Indonesia to finish among the top three in speed
\nclimbing, while in the difficulty climbing category the country's
\nchances of seizing a medal looked remote.<\/p>\n
South Korean and Japanese competitors have traditionally been
\nconsidered the powerhouses of difficulty climbing.<\/p>\n
\"In the difficulty event, the contest is wide open in the
\nabsence of Japanese climbers. But Asia's top climber Go Mi-sun of
\nSouth Korea is here so it's still difficult for us to grab the
\ntop position in the event,\" Etti said.<\/p>\n
Etti, who is third in the national rankings for difficulty
\nclimbing, said she always faced strong competition from team
\nmates Evi Nelywati and Yuyun Yuniar in the speed event.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will rely on Bondan Kartiko, Ronald Marimbing, Tony
\nFirmansyah and Nurahman Rosyid in the men's division.<\/p>\n
In a separate development, the 16-strong Hong Kong team
\ndecided to merge with mainland China, which is only sending two
\nclimbers.<\/p>\n
\"It doesn't matter if the two teams join forces,\" organizing
\ncommittee spokesman Effendi Soen told The Jakarta Post by phone.<\/p>\n
He said teams from Iraq, Japan and Thailand had not registered
\nuntil the Friday deadline.<\/p>\n
A total of 97 climbers from 10 countries have confirmed their
\nparticipation in the championships, despite earlier security
\nworries.<\/p>\n
The event is making a return to Indonesia after being held
\nhere in 1996.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Climbing Federation (FPTI) will use the
\nchampionships to select climbers for the World Cup in Malaysia
\nnext month.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-best-climber-has-doubts-about-victory-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}