119 boxers to compete in 18th President Cup
JAKARTA (JP): One hundred and 19 boxers from 18 countries will compete in next week's 18th President Cup championships in Bogor, West Java.
The Indonesian Boxing Association's chairman, Poul Toding, said yesterday that strong boxing countries, including the USA, France, Germany, Uzbekhistan and Thailand, would compete in the annual even from July 20 to July 26.
Organizers are still waiting for Algeria, Azerbaijan, India and the Philippines to say if they will compete.
Poul said Bogor was appointed to stage the event because the town had successfully staged the Golden Glove championships early this year.
"Jakarta has staged the event 17 times. We offered other provinces to stage the championships but only West Java gave a good response," Poul said.
The association's vice chairman, Imron ZS, said Indonesia was aiming only to grab the best boxer title in the championships.
"It's hard to win the overall title at the championships considering our rivals. We only hope to win the best boxer title," Imron said.
Indonesia's Nemo Bahari grabbed the title in 1995. Last year, Indonesia did not stage the event because of preparations for the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
The association will use the event as the final selection for the 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here which will be held here from Oct. 10 to Oct. 19.
Indonesia will send 44 boxers in four teams. The first and second teams will comprise boxers being groomed for the SEA Games. The third team will be of boxers not training for the Games and the fourth team is from host West Java.
Imron said Indonesian light-heavyweight Pino Bahari, who declined an offer to join the training, still had a chance to fight at the championships.
"If he wants to join the squad, he has to compete at the championships," he said.
Pino, who signed a Rp 100 million (US$40,820) contract with Promoter Tourino Tidar in May, had declined an to compete at the championships.
But the contract says Pino has to compete at the Games before he turns professional.
Bowling
The Indonesian Bowling Association's chairman, Oke F. Supit, said 15 Indonesian athletes would compete at the Malaysian Open in Genting, from July 22 to July 27.
The athletes are currently competing in the Indocement Cup bowling championships here, which started July 9 and finish July 19.
"We aim to win two golds of the 12 on offer in Malaysia," Oke said.
The association, which aims to win three golds at the SEA Games, will use the Singapore Open from Aug. 9 to Aug. 23, to select the national team.
The association is also expected to use the President Cup from Sept. 15 to Sept. 21 as a tryout. All ASEAN countries will compete in the championships. (yan)