11 junior athletes qualify for PON

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarson attended on Tuesday the second day of the National Junior Athletics Championships at the Senayan Madya Stadium, but he did not see any records tumble.

Nonetheless, 11 juniors have secured places at the 15th National Games (PON) to be held next year in Surabaya, after they met PON qualifications at the championships.

The athletes were Yolanda Worsiwari of Irian Jaya (girls 200m dash), Orpa Ayeri of Irian Jaya (girls 400m dash), Sri Pujilestari of Central Java (girls shot put), Sulastry of Central Java (girls shot put), Dwi Ratnawati of Central Java (girls shot put), Wiwik Suryani of East Java (girls long jump), Felix Lahar Buana of East Java (boys high jump), Avianti of Central Java (girls 10,000m walk), Mery Takoy of East Nusa Tenggara (girls 10,000m walk), Vira Milawati of Central Java (girls 10,000m walk) and Risa Wijayanti of Central Java (girls 10,000m walk).

Indonesian Amateur Athletics Association (PASI) secretary- general Barmawi Chaidir said: "I'm glad to see our young athletes' achievements at the championships. Hopefully in two or four years, they will be able to replace their seniors at the SEA Games."

Juwono said the Ministry of Education and Culture had prepared a strategy to train university students at campuses.

"Unfortunately, only three campuses -- the University of Indonesia, the Bandung Institute of Technology and the Surabaya Institute of Technology -- have international standard facilities."

Juwono said he would discuss with the National Sports Council (KONI) and the ministry's director general of out of school education, youths and sports on a system to reward athletes who were also studying.

"There are three options. The first is scholarships, then insurance and the last is a cash bonus. I think scholarships and insurance will help athletes who are also students for long-term training."

Yolanda won the girls 200 meter dash in 24.92 seconds and qualified for PON which has a maximum time of 26.00. In second place was Deisy Sumigar of North Sulawesi in 26.12 seconds, while in third place was Hermahayu of Central Java with 26.32 seconds.

Orpa met the PON limit time after clocking 59.39 seconds in the 400 meters event. Maryati of West Nusa Tenggara finished second with 1:00.17, followed by Endang Kusmiati of East Java with 1:01.07.

Felix qualified for PON after he jumped 1.90 meters, 0.05m higher than the standard. Adi Putra Rema of West Java finished second with 1.80m, followed by I Made Suta Atmaja of Bali with 1.70m.

Wiwik jumped 5.40 meters to qualify for PON, which has a standard of 5.20 meters. Milla Karmila of West Java was in second place with 5.13m, trailed by Sriwahyu of South Sulawesi with 5.07m.

All winners in girls shot put qualified for PON, which has a limit of 10.50 meters. Sri won the gold in 11.15m, Sulastry took the silver in 10.90m and Dwi earned the bronze in 10.84m.

All four top ranked girls in the 10,000m walk also met the PON standard of 58 minutes. Avianti won the gold after clocking 53:52.77, followed by Mery in 56:27.20, Vira in 56:40.55 and Risa in 56:58.08. (yan)