RI's yachting berth at Olympics in doubt<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's hopes of winning a berth for the
\nyachting event at the Atlanta Olympic Games look dim because of
\nthe government ban against national athletes competing in Israel.<\/p>\n
Raymond Patamburan, the secretary general of the Indonesian
\nYachting Association, said yesterday that the ban has played
\nhavoc with the association's preparations for the Games.<\/p>\n
Raymond was commenting on a ban imposed on Oka Gusti
\nSulaksana, who was scheduled to compete in an Olympic qualifying
\ntournament in Israel.<\/p>\n
Oka will have another opportunity to boost his world ranking
\nin three outings in Thailand and France, but Raymond said that
\nOka must finish at least third in each of the tournaments to
\nqualify for Atlanta.<\/p>\n
In Thailand, Oka will compete in the Asian Championship in
\nPattaya from April 8th to April 12th, before leaving for France
\nfor the Semaine Olympique Franaise D'Hyres from April 18th to
\nApril 26th and the European Championship from May 1st to May 7th.<\/p>\n
There are only three Olympic berths left in the men's board
\nfor Asian players. If Oka makes it to Atlanta, he will be the
\nfifth Asian athlete to qualify after his rivals from China, South
\nKorea, Japan and Thailand.<\/p>\n
In weightlifting, meanwhile, Indonesia set a target of winning
\ntwo Olympic berths in the final selection tournament for Asian
\nlifters in Yachio, Japan early next month.<\/p>\n
National coach Harry Wibowo said one of the two best hopes is
\nHari Setiawan, who triumphed in the 54-kilogram division at the
\n18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand last December.<\/p>\n
The other Indonesian lifters are Wahyudi (in the 54kg
\ncategory), Taufik and Zulkarnaen (59kg), Erwin Abdullah and
\nSodikin (64kg), Sutrisno (70kg), Lukman (76kg), Sunaryo (90kg)
\nand Mahfud (108kg and above).<\/p>\n
Even if Indonesia fails the selection, it can ask for one of
\nnine wildcards offered by the World Weightlifting Federation.<\/p>\n
Lifters from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Kazakhstan,
\nKyrgystan, Uzbekistan and India have assured themselves of their
\nberths so far.<\/p>\n
The national lifters have been undergoing training in Cisarua,
\nBogor, West Java since March 1st. (05)<\/p>",
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