Anton and Ismu to warm up in Indocement Cup open

JAKARTA (JP): Men's table tennis players Anton Suseno and Ismu Harinto stayed low profile on their outside chance to win the fourth Indocement Cup open table tennis tournament. Instead, they promised to fight the country's best players prior to the Olympic Games in Sydney in September.

"We are warming up in the tournament before the Olympics. We are not hunting the prize money," Anton said after attending the tournament's inauguration at Gedung Olahraga II in Pertamina complex in Simpruk, South Jakarta, on Thursday.

Anton, representing NHI club, will pair Ismu, a member of Gani Artha club, in the men's doubles event.

"We will try to improve our teamwork here. I used to play defensively while Ismu is an offensive player," he added.

Anton is the only Southeast Asian player to qualify for the Olympic men's singles after finishing 15th in the Asian Championships in Hong Kong in March, which also served as an Olympic qualifying round.

Anton and Ismu finished eighth in the men's doubles, while China Taipei and Vietnam were in sixth and seventh place.

The newly-installed chairman of the Indonesian Table Tennis Association (PTMSI) Triyanto Saudin officially opened the tournament which offers a total of Rp 51.7 million (US$5,800) prize money.

In his opening speech, Triyanto said winners of the tournament would be invited to join the training program for the Southeast Asian Table Tennis Association (SEATA) tournament in Kuala Lumpur from Sept. 3 to Sept. 6.

"The training program will be held for one month, starting after the end of the Indocement Cup," he said, adding that Anton and Ismu would not take part in the preparation as they would have flown to Sydney early in September.

Triyanto, however, failed to mention the number of athletes to be invited and the selection procedure.

Favorite men's teams Surya B and Surya C of Kediri, East Java, kicked off well in the qualifying round Thursday despite the absence of defending champion Surya A, which comprises the club's key players.

Surya B and C claimed a 3-0 victories over Robopong and Tunas Utama respectively.

Host Tiga Roda B, second runner up in 1997, lost to HCIYS Surabaya 1-3 while Tiga Roda C defeated Kosaka Tasik 3-0 in the men's team event.

Women's team Surya C also managed to beat Gotong Royong team 3-0, while Surya B will begin their match on Friday. Tiga Roda managed to beat Perhutani 3-2. (ivy)