Squash a long shot for medals in SEA Games<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Juni Lengkong could have stayed the course in badminton and
\nsoccer, the two sports he first played as a boy, but found
\nanother game to his liking.<\/p>\n
"I started playing squash when the sport was introduced as an
\nextracurricular activity in my junior high school in Balikpapan,
\nEast Kalimantan," the national squad player said during the
\nIndonesia Open squash tournament held at the ISCI compound in
\nCiputat, South Jakarta, in June.<\/p>\n
"Although I had played badminton and soccer, I found squash
\ninteresting and not long after I learned to play squash, I won a
\ntournament for beginners in Balikpapan."<\/p>\n
The 23 year old is one of four men and four women called up
\nfor national training for the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in
\nNovember. The Squash Association of Indonesia (PSI) said in May
\nthat it set a goal of one silver medal from the Games, which
\nmarks the sport's return after it was scratched from Hanoi in
\n2003.<\/p>\n
In 2001 at the Kuala Lumpur Games, Indonesia won two bronze,
\nin the women's singles and women's team competition. In Manila,
\nthere will be no men's or women's team events.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is a long shot for medals amid the regional
\ndominance of Malaysia, which won four golds in three consecutive
\nSEA Games in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and has world class players in
\nOng Beng Hi and Muhamad Aslan Iskandar.<\/p>\n
"Squash is not yet popular in Indonesia. If it were, probably
\nyoung men like me would have the chance to reach the world class
\nlevel like badminton players," said Juni, who now plays for
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"Sometimes I'm envious of Malaysia, which has a good
\ndevelopment program in squash from kids to adult."<\/p>\n
Squash courts -- an enclosed space measuring 9.75 meters by 6-
\n4 meters -- are still scarce in major cities.<\/p>\n
"Public courts are very important to develop squash because
\npeople must join a club with squash court facilities before they
\ncan play the games," he said.<\/p>\n
"If there were many squash courts in areas of Indonesia,
\npeople could play squash easily."<\/p>\n
There also needs to be the effort to change the public
\nperception that squash is an elite, expensive game. The price of
\na racket is similar to badminton, ranging from a couple of
\nhundred thousand rupiah to Rp 1.5 million. Squash balls cost Rp
\n25,000 each, and can last up to six months.<\/p>\n
Newly elected PSI chair Syarif Bastaman admitted the need to
\npopularize the game, beginning with building more facilities.<\/p>\n
"We need more public courts, which are still few in number,
\nand coaches across the country," he said.<\/p>\n
Bastaman said that he would request regional chapters embark
\non a concerted effort to build more courts.<\/p>\n
"With more public courts, we could change the image that
\nsquash is an expensive sport," he said.<\/p>\n
More coaches must also be used to introduce the game in sports
\nclubs or schools, he said.<\/p>\n
At present, there are about 300 squash players in 14
\nprovincial PSI provincial chapters.<\/p>\n
Bastaman recognized the potential for the country to produce
\nexcellent players, especially among those with a grounding in
\nbadminton, but there were still few regular national tournaments
\nor the opportunity to compete abroad.<\/p>\n
There is still a lot of work to be done before local players
\ncan give their neighbors a tough match.<\/p>\n
"At present, the level of our men's players is equal to
\nMalaysian women players," he said.<\/p>",
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