2002 Asiad boxers to prove their worth

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's boxing hopefuls for the 2002 Asian Games are set to prove if they still deserve places on the squad when they take part in the Asian Boxing Championships in Kuala Lumpur next week.

Bonyx Saweho (48kg), Willem Papilaya (63.5kg) and Bara Gomies (71kg) are currently at a training camp for the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and they are aware that if they flop again as they did in Bangkok in February they could face elimination.

"They must take two wins in their respective classes, which means bronze," Didiet Sudijoto, the deputy secretary general of the Indonesian Amateur Boxing Federation (Pertina), told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

But asked if they would stand for any failures, Didiet said, "We will leave the matter to KONI (National Sports Council) to decide."

KONI has 130 tentative athletes at the training camp to compete in 18 events, including boxing.

Asked if they would take the initiative themselves to remove their unsuccessful boxers in Kuala Lumpur, Didiet said, "We won't adopt such an extreme judgment that a loss means elimination.

"If they lose, we will evaluate how they lose and how tough their opponents were."

"Do they lose on points or are they knocked out? That should be taken into consideration when we assess their prospect for the next challenge in the Asian Games," said Didiet, who will lead the team himself.

At the King's Cup in Bangkok, only Bara fared particularly well, finishing with a bronze. The remaining team members, including the already-dumped Stevie Binalay, fell in the early stages.

For the Malaysian event, which will be held in Seremban about 60 kilometers northwest of Kuala Lumpur from June 18 to 26, Pertina has decided to include young boxers -- Arenaldo Moniaga and Melky Lelemboto -- on the team.

The two were picked among six candidates from a two-day selection box-off, which ended on Wednesday.

"We simply want to give them an opportunity to fight on an international level," Didiet said.

While saying that good results from the younger fighters were expected at the Vietnam 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Didiet did not rule out a chance of them being included in the Asian Games training, if they box well.

Arenaldo, a 17-year-old from Jakarta, will compete in the 51 kilogram (112 pound) class, while 19-year-old Melky, from Manado, North Sulawesi, will fight in the 54 kilogram (119 pound) weight division.