PABBSI makes one-sided decision to expel Supeni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): New officials of the Indonesian Weightlifting,
\nPowerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) one-sidedly
\nexpelled women's weightlifter Supeni from its Olympic Games
\ntraining program on Monday just two days prior to its final
\nselection at Pringsewu, Lampung.<\/p>\n
The expulsion sparked controversy in the meeting between the
\nNational Sports Council (KONI) and officials of Olympic-qualified
\nsports' organizations.<\/p>\n
Olympics weightlifting team manager Djoko Pramono claimed
\nduring the meeting that he had not been informed about the
\ndecision.<\/p>\n
None of the PABBSI officials were willing to give any reasons
\nfor Supeni's dismissal. Olympics training director Arie Sudewo,
\nDjoko and the association representatives were still engaged in
\ndiscussions on the dispute as of the time of going to press.<\/p>\n
Djoko expressed regret on the hasty judgment, saying that the
\nnew officials should have waited until Wednesday when a five-
\nperson team would evaluate three lifters, namely Sri Indriyani
\nand Lisa Rumbewas in the 48-kilograms division and Winarni in the
\n53-kilograms division.<\/p>\n
Sri and Winarni are being coached by Imron Rosadi in Lampung
\nwhile Lisa is being trained at PABBSI chairman Dharma Surya's
\ntraining camp in South Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
The second-leg selection for Supeni (53kgs) will take place at
\nthe Ragunan sports school in South Jakarta on Aug. 14.<\/p>\n
Indonesia only earned three tickets in Olympic women's
\nweightlifting after finishing eighth at the World Weightlifting
\nChampionships in Athens last year with one gold and four silver
\nmedals.<\/p>\n
Last week, Dharma pledged he would not intervene in the
\nselection process after his installation ceremony.<\/p>\n
\"I received information today (Monday) that Supeni is being
\nexpelled from the team. The letter was signed by secretary
\ngeneral Col. Gandrung. I am still the team manager, but I was not
\ninvited to discuss this,\" Djoko said emotionally.<\/p>\n
\"I can't understand why they don't wait until Aug. 9 for the
\nselection. By conducting a selection, both the athletes and
\ncoaches will be satisfied whatever the decision may be.\"<\/p>\n
Djoko said Supeni's dismissal was based on 'mathematical
\nfactors'. He refused to comment on the allegation that favoritism
\nwas behind the decision.<\/p>\n
\"We must view all aspects before making a decision. They can
\nnot just decide it based upon mathematics. There are several
\nfactors besides technical skills which are required to compete in
\na major event such as the Olympics. Mental and psychological
\nreadiness are two major considerations,\" said the retired marine
\nmajor-general.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Arie was trying to be more positive about the
\ncontroversy. He said PABBSI officials might not want to miss the
\ndeadline of for the registration of names on Aug. 18. However, he
\nadmitted that the action did not comply with the procedures.<\/p>\n
\"PABBSI officials are new. They don't want to miss the
\ndeadline so they took the initiative in naming the team members.
\nI only see them acting in good faith and so I will help in
\nresolving the dispute,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Arie stressed that weightlifting, along with badminton, boxing
\nand windsurfing present great chances of winning bronzes in the
\nquadrennial event.<\/p>\n
\"We want to preserve the gold medal tradition. Only badminton,
\nespecially the men's players, has a significant chance of
\ncontributing golds and silvers. But we also expect bronzes from
\nwindsurfing, weightlifting and boxing.\"<\/p>\n
He also asked the athletes, coaches and officials to
\nconcentrate on the training program. \"Anything that could badly
\naffect the training should be avoided and neutralized
\nimmediately,\" said the retired Army lieutenant-general.<\/p>\n
Separately, Olympic tennis training director Martina Widjaja
\nsaid that Indonesian women's tennis player Yayuk Basuki had a
\nslight chance of earning a ticket to the women's doubles at the
\nevent.<\/p>\n
\"Yayuk has used her special ranking in the singles at
\nWimbledon and in the doubles at the Australia Open. But she has
\nlacked the motivation to make her comeback. I just encourage her
\nto keep training for multi sports events including the SEA Games
\nand Asian Games,\" she said. (ivy\/yan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pabbsi-makes-one-sided-decision-to-expel-supeni-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}