Indonesian hopefuls for Asian Games to take preliminary tests at Jatiluhur<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
All national athletes selected for the Busan, South Korea Asian
\nGames 2002 in September will gather for a week at Jatiluhur
\nreservoir in Purwakarta, West Java starting Monday in a bid to
\n"correlate mission and vision between KONI (National Sports
\nCouncil) and its affiliate bodies."<\/p>\n
"We are going to undertake a great task at the Asian Games.
\nFor such an important event, there should be a common vision
\namong the officials of both KONI and all the individual sports
\norganizations," Ahmed Solihin, KONI's public relations officer,
\ntold The Jakarta Post, on Sunday.<\/p>\n
"Our mission is to go to Busan with the nation's interest at
\nstake. Through sports we will strive for the sake of our
\ncountry's image.<\/p>\n
"The vision is clear that we are looking to improve our
\nperformance in Asia," Ahmed said.<\/p>\n
The Busan 2002 Asian Games is scheduled for Sept. 29 to Oct.
\n14 this year. Indonesia brought home six gold medals from the
\nlast Asian Games in Bangkok four years ago.<\/p>\n
The seven-day workout in Purwakarta, about 100 kilometers east
\nof here, should feature 171 athletes from 17 sporting disciplines
\nas shown in the list KONI produced last December.<\/p>\n
But Ahmed said the number would be less, given that some of
\nthe athletes are currently away for overseas training.<\/p>\n
He also ensured all home-based athletes would join the
\nprogram. "During our coordination work with the sports
\norganizations, we have been assured of no-absentees. None of them
\nhas mentioned unavailability."<\/p>\n
The number of participants could have increased by eight if
\nKONI had not suspended its approval of the bodybuilders proposed
\nby PABBSI, which oversees weightlifting, powerlifting, and
\nbodybuilding.<\/p>\n
The training camp, which Ahmed said administers seven
\ndifferent types of fitness tests, is to assess the physical
\nfitness of the Busan candidates. Training director Imron Z.S. has
\ninsisted that the athletes should reach 60 percent of the
\nrequired level of fitness, otherwise face elimination.<\/p>\n
However, Ahmed did not appear to confirm that all those
\nfailing would automatically be disqualified.<\/p>\n
"It does not necessarily go that way. We just want to know
\nabout their physical and mental conditions," he said. "This will
\nbe the first test and will be followed by another."<\/p>\n
Ahmed also played down criticism that the workout would be
\nlavish and expensive using government funds allocated to KONI. He
\nsaid KONI has received sponsorship from state satellite company
\nIndosat, to conduct the training camp. Ahmed would not disclose
\nthe amount of the sponsorship, nor the amount being spent on the
\ntraining camp.<\/p>",
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