Bayu, Aprilia to compete in World Judo Championships

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian men's judoka Kresna Bayu and women's judoka Aprilia Marzuki will compete at the World Championships in Munich, Germany.

The Indonesian Judo Association (PJSI) official in charge of athletes development Subardi Suar said on Wednesday that both judokas would not only warm up for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur in September but also prepare for the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea.

"We are only sending Bayu and Aprilia to the championships although we are now grooming 23 judokas for the SEA Games. We want both athletes to perform well in next year's Asiad. They are world-level judokas as they had participated in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney," he said.

Subardi praised Bayu as the best in the open class in Southeast Asia and Asia.

His statement was contradictory to the facts as Bayu's best achievement was winning two golds at the 1997 SEA Games in Jakarta. He lost in the 1998 Asiad in Bangkok and 2000 Olympics Games in Sydney with an ippon in the first round.

"Bayu is still young and he has the potential to excel. He has also participated in many competitions and is the best in the open class. No Indonesian judoka has equaled Bayu in the class," Subardi said.

PJSI has, however, failed to set a target for the World Championships, which will take place from July 26 to July 29.

"We hope Bayu will reach the second round. If he does, he will be able to play in the Bundesliga in Bonn."

Bayu will fly to Germany next Tuesday. As for Aprilia, she is now practicing in Karlsruhe while studying there.

Unlike Subardi, head coach Indriana Kusnadi was less enthusiastic about the judokas overseas tryouts at the World Championships, saying they will not gain much from the event.

"As both judokas are focusing on the SEA Games, they need practice partners with equal skills, and not be competing at the championships.

"One or two days of competition will not affect them much. Our judokas have yet to be given overseas tryouts. They have only competed in the Wismoyo Cup and College and University Students Games as preparation for the SEA Games," she said.

Subardi said Indonesia was aiming to bring home five of 14 golds at stake in the Sept. 8 to Sept. 17 Games.

"We initially targeted seven golds, but we are likely to lose two as the Games organizers are not featuring open class at the Games.

"We may also lose the gold in the men's 71 kilograms as I Wayan Sutikno will face a tough challenge from John Baylon of the Philippines who grabbed the 1997 Games gold.

Bayu and Aprilia are expected to contribute two golds in the 90kg and 70kg respectively. Three other golds are hoped from senior Peter Taslim in the men's 66kg, Ira Purnamasari in the women's 78kg and Lita Theresia in the women's 63kg.

In Tokyo, Japan's Olympic champion Ryoko Tamura said on Tuesday that she was confident of a fifth straight world judo title at the end of the month, despite a serious knee injury, AFP reported.

"The injury is healing. The injury has motivated me even more for a fifth straight title," the petite 25-year-old told a news conference.

Tamura tore ligaments in her right knee in a freak accident last week. She was crushed by a heavyweight contender grappling on an adjacent mat during a training session.

Tamura is tuning up for the championships where she will defend her 48kg bantamweight title.

She lost only twice in eight years -- in the finals of the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics -- and won a gold in the Sydney Olympics in September last year. (ivy)