Athletes in Olympics training suffer injuries
JAKARTA (JP): Seven athletes currently training for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney have to undergo medical treatment for injuries or illnesses, the National Sports Council (KONI) said on Thursday.
KONI spokesman Ahmed Solihin named the athletes as women's badminton player Cindana Hartono; boxers Willem Papilaya and Hermansen Ballo; men's judoka Kresna Bayu; women's taekwondoin Juana Wangsa Putri; and women's weightlifters Winarni and Sri Indriyani.
"KONI will send doctors to assist the teams which are treating the athletes. We are not trying to interfere in their treatment. We will coordinate with the regional sports councils where the athletes are training, their sports organizations and the medical teams supervising them," he said.
Cindana, currently ranked 13th in the world, was injured in February during a simulation for the semifinal round of the Uber Cup.
Willem and Hermansen reportedly are suffering from malnutrition and Winarni is suffering from typhoid. Sri Indriyani injured her knee when she attempted to lift a 110-kilogram barbell, Bayu has epilepsy and Juana is recovering from a back injury.
Juana's South Korean coach, Oh Il-nam, said separately Juana would begin training on March 20. Juana, who competes in the flyweight division, had to cancel an overseas stint in Europe due to her injury, Oh added.
"Juana only managed to participate in the U.S. Open in Honolulu, Hawaii, last month. She is expected to return to training camp by the end of this month. She has undergone medical treatment in South Korea," he said.
Juana is scheduled to compete in the Japan Open in Osaka from April 29 to April 30, the Asian Tae kwon do Championship in Hong Kong from May 18 to May 21, the Mexico Open from June 8 to June 11 and the Korea Open in South Korea from June 26 to June 29.
The Indonesian Taekwondo Association has been training Rahadewi Neta to replace Juana if she is unable to recover in time for the Olympics.
"Juana won't miss the opportunity. She will fight in the Olympics. There's no better women's taekwondoin in Indonesia. Neta is still too young, she lacks competitiveness because she has only taken part in a few international tournaments," Oh said.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Swimming Association deputy secretary- general Dadeng Kurnia said Indonesian swimmer Steven Chandra had qualified for the Olympics in the 1,500m freestyle.
Dadeng said Steven clocked 16:11 seconds in the 1999 Southeast Asian Games in Brunei Darussalam, beating the Olympic qualifying time of 16:30 seconds. Steven is now training in Sydney, where he also attends college.
"It was Michael Bell, Steven's coach in Sydney, who informed us last week that Steven had qualified for the Olympics. We hadn't noticed before this. You know, we're only human," he said.
Dadeng said Steven would miss the Asian Swimming Championships in Pusan, South Korea, later this month, but would compete in several tournaments in Sydney as a warm-up for the Olympics. (ivy)