KONI asked for all-out preparations for SEA Games<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono
\nIsman ordered the National Sports Governing Body (KONI) yesterday
\nto go all out in preparations for next year's Southeast Asian
\n(SEA) Games in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
\"It is important for KONI to maximize its preparations from
\nnow on, otherwise we will be left in second place by another
\ncountry,\" Hayono said while opening the national congress of the
\nBadminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) in Denpasar, Bali,
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
The one-day congress was aimed at evaluating PBSI's programs
\nfor this year and preparing more programs for next year.<\/p>\n
Apart from badminton, the only sport in which Indonesia
\ncurrently reigns supreme, Indonesia's performance in other sports
\nhas not been as good as that of other Southeast Asian countries,
\nHayono said.<\/p>\n
He added that he has not yet received any reports on how the
\nother sports sectors are preparing themselves for the games.<\/p>\n
Malaysia and Thailand have had their athletes intensively
\ngroomed in China as part of their preparations for next year's
\nSEA Games, Hayono said.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Indonesia has been preoccupied with matters
\nother than preparing itself for the games.<\/p>\n
Thailand was the only country to spoil Indonesia's supremacy
\nin the SEA Games when it won the overall title in 1985 in
\nBangkok.<\/p>\n
Seeding<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Soerjadi, PBSI's chairman, stressed the importance
\nthat every party should share the same perception about how the
\nterm \"seeded\" should be applied in badminton.<\/p>\n
Soerjadi was commenting on the surprising withdrawal of
\ndefending champion Pelita Jaya from the ongoing national
\nchampionships due to its disappointment at being seeded fourth on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
\"Let us view this problem rationally and wisely,\" Soerjadi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Pelita Jaya's manager, former men's singles great Icuk
\nSugiarto, announced his club's withdrawal shortly after the
\nopening ceremony of the annual event. Icuk insisted that, as
\ndefending champion, Pelita Jaya deserved to be seeded first.<\/p>\n
PBSI, in a letter signed by the championships' referees,
\nSudajat and Julius Tetelepta, said its decision to seed Pelita
\nJaya fourth was made during a meeting on technical matters, which
\nIcuk failed to attend.<\/p>\n
The organizing committee further explained that the seeding of
\nthe clubs was determined based on the present performance of each
\nparticipating team, not on the results of the latest national
\nchampionships two years ago.<\/p>\n
Icuk has rejected that explanation. He said he was barred from
\nattending the technical meeting because he did not hold any
\nposition in the provincial administration sporting body.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Icuk also announced his withdrawal from his
\nposition as PBSI chairman in charge of scouting talent, and
\nproposed that his club be dissolved.<\/p>\n
The badminton event staged at the Yuwana Mandala sports hall
\nin Denpasar will last until Dec. 3. (arf)<\/p>",
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