Beach spikers ready to pounce

Beach spikers ready to pounce

JAKARTA (JP): National Olympic duo Ni Putu Timy Yudani Rahayu
and Engel Berta Kaize are aiming to improve their world ranking
at the finals of the 11th Women's Beach Volleyball World
Championship due to start tomorrow at the Senayan tennis complex.

"Our main goal is to improve our world ranking, which we
achieved at the last Olympics, and we've been preparing for it
for thirty days," said Eta, nicknamed Berta, yesterday.

The Indonesian Volleyball Association's executive director,
Rita Subowo, said the organization realizes the chances of
Indonesians winning the championship, which is sponsored by tile
company Keramik Diamond, are slim but it expects Timy and Eta,
world ranked 16th, to improve their rating.

"Six other local teams, which are being groomed for the next
SEA Games and Asian Games, will be able to participate to test
their skills and experience other countries' strength," Rita
said.

"Each team is to get 10 points for qualifying to the main
draw," she added.

The International Olympic Committee which held its annual
meeting in Mexico earlier this month has decided that beach
volleyball will be contested as medal event in the 2000 Olympics
in Sydney.

"It's very important for them to improve their ranking because
the International Volleyball Federation counts the points since
the end of the last Olympics," Rita said.

Rita, who is also the organizers' chairwoman, said that three
of the local teams will replace the United States teams, which
withdrew from the championship due to injuries in a tournament in
Brazil two weeks ago.

Olympic gold medalists Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires of Brazil
and bronze medalists Kerrie Pottharst and Natalie Cook of
Australia are due to participate in the championship.

"Since Atlanta, we've been very busy in Australia, promoting
the sport. We haven't been practicing very much but we're aiming
at the final," Pottharst said of her chances at the championship.

Thirty two teams from 13 countries are taking part in the
US$140,000 tournament, which runs through Sunday.

The organizers have set up two artificial courts on the clay
tennis courts at Senayan. The white sand is from Bangka island
off Sumatra and the quality is claimed to be "better than the
Olympic sand."

Rita said that all players have to wear a vest to cover their
bikinis, which could cause offense here.

The privately owned TPI TV channel is to air the matches live
on Saturday at 3.00 p.m. and on Sunday at 1.00 p.m. (yan)