Benny Wijaya eligible for PON: Organizers
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tennis Association has no reason to bar the country's former men's singles number one Benny Wijaya from the 14th National Games, the association's secretary-general Subianto said yesterday.
Subianto was responding to protests lodged by 13 provinces which objected to Benny's participation in the Games due to his refusal to play in the Davis Cup world men's team tennis championship.
Benny, who led East Java to the gold medal in the 1993 Games, is now representing Jakarta. Benny signed for a Taiwanese club in 1994 and has since stopped playing in the Davis Cup.
Subianto said that even though the association and the Games' organizing committee were very unhappy with Benny's Davis Cup absence, "We can do nothing to prevent Benny from the Games because he has fulfilled all the procedures and eligibility criteria required."
Benny's participation was endorsed in a letter signed by the Games' executive chief R.S. Museno which was received by the association an hour before the Games' tennis qualifying round began yesterday.
The letter said that Benny's participation is legitimate and that the objections raised against his participation are not valid in relation to the Games' rules and regulations.
After having his participation legally acknowledged, Benny showed that he deserved the acknowledgement by leading Jakarta to a 3-0 first-round demolition of his former team East Java.
Benny beat Agung Tarmizi 6-1, 6-0 in the first singles match. Another former national number one, Dede Suhendar, gave Jakarta a winning 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Riandito, before Eddy Kusdariyanto and Tjahyono completed the drubbing with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Iwan and Agung in the doubles.
In the other matches, national No. 1 Suwandi led West Java's 3-0 rout of South Kalimantan. The Chiang Mai Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist beat Wury Aryadi 6-1, 6-1.
In the women's action, Indonesia's tennis queen Yayuk Basuki blanked Dori Adrenalia 6-0, 6-0 to give Yogyakarta a 2-1 win over East Kalimantan. Yayuk's Fed Cup doubles partner Romana Tedjakusuma also played an inspirational role in East Java's 3-0 victory over West Java.
Meanwhile, the Games torch yesterday caused a long traffic jam as it was carried in relay from Bandung to Bogor. The congestion created a 40-kilometer line of cars, starting from Bandung's Padalarang to the mouth of the Cipatat toll road, Antara reported yesterday.
The torch entered Bogor at about 8 p.m. and will be carried to Jakarta early this morning. It is scheduled to reach Depok, which borders West Java and Jakarta this afternoon.
By yesterday, most of the visiting athletes from 26 provinces had arrived here for the Games. They included the athletes from Riau, Central Java, West Java, Yogyakarta, West Sumatra, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, East Timor, North Sulawesi, Aceh and Central Sulawesi, Bali, Bengkulu, Jambi, Irian Jaya and Maluku. (arf)