ASEAN bodybuilding c'ships starts in Bali

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jimbaran, Bali

Forty-three bodybuilders from six countries are set to compete on Friday in the 7th South East Asian (ASEAN) Bodybuilding Championship in Jimbaran, Bali.

With nine categories, the biennial competition will run until Tuesday.

Indonesia will field 14 athletes. Singapore has arrived with 13 competitors while Vietnam is competing with nine. Thailand and Myanmar have joined in with three competitors each and Malaysia will have one.

The participant numbers were below expectations -- 100 athletes from 11 countries in the region -- according to Aditya Karman, an official of the Indonesian Bodybuilding Federation (IBF) in charge of regional affairs.

Datuk Paul Chua, president of the South East Asian Bodybuilding Federation (SEABBF), said that the other five countries opted not to come to Indonesia, for one reason or another.

"The (countries) all have provided us with the reasons why they can't come," Chua said in a media conference in on Thursday.

The Filipino, Cambodian and Laotian federations cited financial difficulties. East Timor does not have a federation yet, while Brunei's absence was not clear.

Despite the low turnout, Chua said he guaranteed it would not undermine the competitiveness because the region's best athletes were still around.

Chua brushed aside suggestions that SEABBF punish the absent countries, and said that the body put more emphasis on fostering brotherhood in the region through sports, than on punishment.

Indonesian team manager Irwan Siregar said that the participants had an equal chance in the competition with most being evenly matched.

He said Indonesia would face its toughest opposition from Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

"Our athletes are mostly young and so are other athletes from other countries. The teams have an equal opportunity against each other to win the championship," Irwan said.

Twenty-three-year-old Rachmat is the gold medal favorite for Indonesia in the heavyweight category. His biggest rival is likely to be Azman Bin Abdullah of Malaysia.