Archery taking aim for medals in Manila

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang, Banten

National archery organizers are optimistic about their team's chances of winning gold at the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games despite disappointing performances of some main hopefuls in the ongoing national championship.

One of the biggest surprises on Thursday was Rina Dewi Puspitasari, a 2004 Athens Olympian and the country's lone 2003 SEA Games gold medalist, who failed to win the top spot on the podium here.

In the women's FITA Olympic round, Novia Nuraini of East Java upset national archer Suci Dwi Megasari of Lampung 588-581 to win gold.

"Rina was among several national archers who did not perform well in this championship," SEA Games team coordinator Yuanita Nasution acknowledged.

"But others, like Kuswantoro and Hendro Suprianto in the men's FITA Olympic round, did well."

Kuswantoro of East Java won gold by defeating Hendro of West Java 623-612.

Yuanita said the Archery Association of Indonesia (Perpani) would evaluate its team's performance after the championship, including deciding if there should be changes in the archers set for Manila in November.

"However, our chance to win gold in the SEA Games is still wide open because competition is relatively tight among ASEAN archers."

Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Myanmar would be the toughest competitors in the SEA Games, Yuanita said.

Archers from the countries have "taken turns" in defeating each other in regional competitions, she added.

In the runup to Manila, there is a planned training stint in South Korea beginning in September.

"We knew one coach, who is very analytical as he uses technology to analyze incorrect movements and suggest new techniques," she said.

Only those selected for the main team for the 2005 SEA Games would travel to Korea, she said. Other national athletes would participate in the Asian Grand Prix in Jakarta next month and the Muslim Women's Games in Tehran from Sept. 22-Sept. 29.

There are four men and four women archers in the elite Indonesia Awakens (IA) training program, along with two substitutes.

Male archers are Kuswantoro, Hendro, Lockoneko and Rachmat Sulistiawan, with substitutes Lukman H and Mujiono.

The women archers are Rina, Gina Rahayu Sugiharti of West Java, Suci of Lampung and Yasmidar Hamid.