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)