Aswan, Meity hope to win c'ships

Aswan, Meity hope to win c'ships

JAKARTA (JP): Men's kata fighter Aswan Ali and women's kumite
fighter Meity Kaseger have expressed hope to repeat their medal
wins in the seventh World Shotokan Karate-do International
Federation championships in Nusa Dua, Bali, next week.

Aswan and Meity said after attending a farewell ceremony on
Saturday that Indonesian karatekas would face tough challengers
in the event because many rivals have made good preparations
ahead of the competition.

Aswan said: "All the rivals are tough because they have
prepared themselves long before the event. Insya Allah (God
willing) we can do our best for this nation."

Aswan won gold in the individual event in 1991 championships
in Mexico. But in the 1997 championships in Milan, Italy, he only
finished fourth in the individual event. He also won bronze in
the team event with Elias Tande and Wahyu Widayat who both also
attended the championships.

The team's top achievement was in the 1999 Southeast Asian
(SEA) Games where it won gold for Indonesia.

Strong rivals in this event will come from France, Japan and
Italy. Three years ago, France grabbed golds in the individual
and team kata and Japan won the silver and bronze in the
individual kata. Italy took silver in the team kata.

The other kata fighters to compete in the tournament, which
will be attended by shotokan master H. Kanazawa, are Hermawan Ai,
Santoso and Urbanus.

Meity, who competes in the kumite +60 kilograms, said that
Indonesia had young fighters on its team. "We have a better team
because we have young players in it."

She also hoped she could earn gold as she did with her team
kumite in the 1994 championships in Yokohama, Japan. "Our
struggle will not be an easy one. Many of our opponents are
members of the national team in their respective countries," she
told a media briefing.

Indonesia is sending 28 karatekas to the event. Besides the
individual and team kata, the karatekas will compete in the men's
-65kg kumite, men's -75kg kumite, men's +75kg kumite, women's
-60kg kumite and women's +60kg kumite.

Organizing committee chairman, Efjuno Tando, said on Saturday
that 900 karatekas from 46 countries have confirmed their
participation in the championships, to be held at Sheraton Nusa
Dua Hotel, Nusa Dua, Bali, from April 19 to April 23.

He said that Indonesia had not set a target in the event.

"We will just try to be a good host. We can only hope that
they will win some medals," said Tando, who is also chairman of
the Inkado karate school.

Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri will officially open the
championships on April 22. Tando also said each participant could
attend a special exercise session with Kanazawa on April 19 by
paying US$30 for two hours. (ivy)