Archery chair wants Asiad squad slots

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Archery Association insisted yesterday that its athletes should go to the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok in December.

The association's chairman, Oetojo Oesman, said an absence from the Asiad could dash Indonesia's hopes of making an Olympic appearance in Sydney in 2000.

Indonesia's women's archery team has qualified for the previous three Olympics, winning a silver in Seoul in 1988, but the National Sports Council decided not to rank archery among the sports Indonesia would compete in the Asian Games.

"We have to place among the world's top 50 to qualify for the 2000 Olympics. The remaining competitions to improve our ranking are the Asiad and the World Championships next year," Oetojo said.

Indonesia has lost a chance to earn more world ranking points in the 1999 Southeast Asian Games in Brunei after the event's organizers excluded archery from their medal sports list.

The association is grooming the women's trio of Lucia Elizabeth, Dwi Purwanti and Suhartini and the men's quartet of Wahyu Hidayat, Hendra Setiawan, Yulianto and Latif Pramono under the tutelage of South Korean coach Lee Jae-hyun. Hired in December, the foreign trainer shoulders the task of sending national archers to the Asiad.

"We must go to the Asian Games at any cost. We are even prepared to use our own money," Oetojo said.

However, he admitted that the lack of funds could stand between his expectations and the Asian Games.

"We spend Rp 60 million (US$4,600) per month to cover the centralized training expenses, organizational expenditures and coaches' salaries. Along with a planned tryout in Myanmar, our operational expenses will reach Rp 80 million this month," he said.

Myanmar will host the Asian Championships at the end of this month. Asian countries will use the event as an important warm-up for the Bangkok Games.

Oetojo said the national archers being groomed for the Asian Games are expected to shine in the Asian Championships.

The national Asian Games team training director Muhammad Hindarto said the sports council would reconsider the archers' Asian Games future if they meet Asiad qualifying points of 1,300.

Oetojo argued that his athletes had yet to reach their peak form because they need time to get used to new imported equipment.

"If the training program goes as expected, they will reach their ideal form during the Asian Championships and the Asian Games," Oetojo said. (yan)