Angie gets wild card entry for Athens

Angie gets wild card entry for Athens

Musthofid and Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian tennis star Angelique "Angie" Widjaja, who is being
sidelined by a nagging injury, has been granted a wild card entry
for the Olympic Games in Athens, said the National Sports Council
(KONI).

KONI planning and budgeting official Indra Kartasasmita
confirmed on Wednesday Angie's invitation from the International
Olympic Committee (IOC).

"We received IOC's invitation on March 12 and they expect our
reply not later than March 31. Of course, we look forward to
seeing Angie play in Athens," said Indra, who has been appointed
chef-de-mission of the Indonesian Olympic delegation.

Indonesia has so far snapped up 18 slots in seven sports for
the Olympics in August.

Aside from tennis, Indonesia will send two archers, three
swimmers, seven weight lifters, one windsurfer, two tae kwon do
artists and two track and field athletes.

Indonesia remains hopeful for additional berths in cycling,
badminton, rowing, judo, boxing, beach volleyball and diving.

Angie, 19, had a career high of ranking 55th in the WTA Tour.
However, she has dropped to 104 and is expected to fall further
in rank, as she is expected to recover from a knee injury for
about a month.

Indra said the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) had
initially proposed two slots, with Angie teaming up with Wynne
Prakusya for the women's doubles.

"It appears that the IOC only grants one invitation in the
singles (category)," he said.

Meanwhile, Angie's manager Virginia Rusli made an announcement
on her protege's nagging injury: "It was decided this afternoon
that Angie will be pulled out of three tournaments after
consulting her doctor, coach and physical trainer," Virginia told
The Jakarta Post.

The three tournaments, all in the United States, are the
Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami, Florida, the Bausch & Lomb
Championships on Amelia Island and the Family Circle Cup in
Charleston, South Carolina.

"Angie will be away for about a month. We are just worried
that she might get worse if she plays," Virginia said.

Virginia said that she was not sure the location of Angie 's
sustained injury. "She began to feel the pain when she was
playing in September in Bali. In Pattaya, she got worse."

Angie reached the quarterfinals in Bali, where she claimed the
championship in 2001. She entered Pattaya as the defending
champion, but headed home a second-round loser.

"Angie will keep training," Virginia said, adding that Angie
would resume playing in Fed Cup in India in April.

With her absence from the three tournaments, Angie will be
deprived of a chance to try to collect points to shore up her
falling rank after a string of poor performances last year.

She has already lost points from not participating in the
ongoing Indian Wells tourney in California, in which she reached
the third round last year.

"We decided not to play in Indian Wells because it's too close
to the Doha tournament," said Virginia, who expected Angie to
drop to around 120 from her present rank of 104.