Badminton starts dominate sports reporters' awards
JAKARTA (JP): Badminton stars dominate the list of nominees for the 1996 Anugerah Awards run by the Jakarta Chapter of the Sports Journalists Association.
The association announced yesterday that the Anugerah Awards would be presented to the best male and female athletes, the best coach, best team and best sports motivator at the Gran Melia Hotel on April 3.
The presentation ceremony is to be broadcast by the national network ANteve on April 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Ricky A Subagja and Rexy Mainaky, gold medalists at the Atlanta Olympics, head the list for best athlete honors in the men's division. The other candidates are badminton doubles Denny Kantono/Antonius, Utut Adianto (chess), Ade Rai (bodybuilding), Sutrisno (powerlifting) and Hengky Lasut/Eddy Manoppo (bridge).
In the women's division, the nominees are badminton players Mia Audina and Susi Susanti, swimmers Catherine Surya and Elsa Manora Nasution, Sri Indriyani (weightlifting), Upi Darmayana Tamin (chess) and Yayuk Basuki (tennis).
The Thomas and Uber Cups teams have been nominated in the Best Team category. The men's bridge and women chess teams have also been nominated for the award.
Badminton coaches Christian Hadinata and Atik Jauhari were selected as the Best Coaches, along with Retno Kustiah, a women's badminton coach and Imron Rosadi, a heavyweight boxing coach from Lampung.
Candidates for the Best Sports Motivator are Soerjadi, chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia, Wiranto, chairman of the Indonesian Bridge Association and Akbar Tanjung, chairman of the Indonesian Chess Association.
The association is also to honor one of the country's up-and- coming stars. The nominees are Ananda Mikola (motor racing), Kurnia Sandy (soccer), Firhan Ali (go-carting), badminton doubles Indarti Isolina and Deyana Lomban, Johari Johan (triathlon), Wynne Prakusya (tennis) and Jeffer Rosobin (badminton).
The awards have become an annual event for the association. In addition to the award, the winners will receive cash totaling Rp 60 million.
The best male and female athletes will receive Rp 12.5 million each. The best coach will receive Rp 12.5 million. The best team will receive Rp 15 million and the best up-and-coming star will receive sports equipment worth Rp 7.5 million.
Soraya Perucha, an ANteve spokeswoman, said the involvement of the national TV network in the Anugerah Awards is to give greater recognition to the sporting performances of 1996.
"We want to show the public that athletes should be honored. For this reason, ANteve wants to publicize their activities through the awards presentation," Perucha said.
The ceremony is to include performances by singers Melly Manuhutu, Irma June, Hedy Yunus and Ricky Johanes. (lnt)