RI wall climbers hope for top tenth spot at Asiad<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Five Indonesian wall climbers will fly for
\nThailand today for the 1998 Asian X Games qualifier to be held
\nfrom April 22 to April 26 in Phuket.<\/p>\n
Bondan Kartika, Ronald Mamarimbing, Nur Rosyid, Binsar
\nNainggolan and Etha Hendrawati, the only woman on the team, will
\ncompete in both the difficulty and speed categories.<\/p>\n
The Phuket games will be Etha's third international trip. She
\nplaced fourth in the 1996 Asian Wall Climbing Competition in
\nSingapore and took the silver medal in the Asian Wall Climbing
\nChampionship in Iran last year.<\/p>\n
Team manager Hendricus Mutter, who also chairs the Federation
\nof Indonesian Climbing Activities, said yesterday that his
\nathletes were confident of finishing in the top ten.<\/p>\n
\"We expect to secure at least third place behind our
\narchrivals Japan and South Korea,\" he said during a wall climbing
\nexhibition at Pondok Indah Mall in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Only the top ten finishers in the Phuket competition will
\nqualify for the 1998 Summer X Games scheduled for June in San
\nDiego, California.<\/p>\n
The Phuket qualifying event will feature extreme sports like
\nskate boarding, in-line skating, bicycle stunts, wake boarding
\nand sport climbing. It is the initial Asian competition in
\nradical sports.<\/p>\n
About 200 athletes from various countries, including Thailand,
\nJapan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore,
\nIndia, China, Australia and New Zealand, will be vying for places
\nin the Summer X Games.<\/p>\n
Hendrikus admitted that it was difficult to develop wall
\nclimbing here due to financial limitations.<\/p>\n
\"We badly need donors to enable us to send our athletes abroad
\nfor international events,\" he said.<\/p>\n
More and more young people have become interested in the sport
\nsince it was introduced in 1989, he said. Some 3,000 people from
\n22 provinces have now joined the federation.<\/p>\n
Imron Z.S., a National Sports Council executive who was
\nwatching the exhibition yesterday, said the sport deserved an
\nentry in the 2002 National Games in Surabaya because the sports
\ncouncil had officially recognized it. (cst)<\/p>",
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