Billiard players complain about lack of equipment

Billiard players complain about lack of equipment

JAKARTA (JP): No equipment, no achievement. That's one of the retorts the Indonesian billiard and snooker association has about why its athletes have no say in international competitions.

In a meeting with the National Sports Council yesterday, training director of the association, Ashar Nasution, said his athletes had long trained with rented tables.

"Our players cannot use the tables as freely as they want. It easily distracts their concentration since they sometimes have to stop their practice when the time runs out," Nasution said.

"We only have seven hours a day and it's very annoying when we have to stop hitting the ball once we've really gotten into the mood," he said.

Nasution said that such interruptions cost his players their desire to train harder.

Nasution said the association has met the need of nine-feet billiard tables for 16 players. Four 12-feet snooker tables are also among the association's inventory.

"But they are not enough. We don't have any 10-foot tables at all," Nasution said. National players have long rented a 10-foot table from PT Tambang Timah, a state-owned mining company.

A new 10-foot table costs Rp 3 million (US$1,300), but a second-hand one would be much cheaper. Nasution said that the association wanted to buy the table it rents from the company, but needs recommendation from the council.

"We expect to buy at least four," Nasution said.

Andre Ben, another executive of the association, said that the training program for the 19th Southeast Asian Games here next year could have started if the association had the equipment.

More events

Both Nasution and Andre suggested that host Indonesia add the number of events to eight in the 1997 Games. "We would like to reinstate cadre 47/1, ban, three ban and libre in addition to snooker, English billiards, rotation, and nine ball," Nasution said.

The additional events were contested in the 1987 Games here.

Nasution said that Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines supported the plan.

Andre said that the association expected to win at least four gold medals from the four events. Indonesia managed only one silver medal and one bronze in the last SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Veterans Ananta Sigit Sidharta, Kempeng Pondiar, James Lengkang and Jimmy Arianto look certain to form the backbone of the national team next year.

Also yesterday the Indonesian Bowling Association met with the council to deliver its plan outline for the 19th Games.

Chairman of the association, Oke F. Supit, said that nine young bowlers are being groomed for the biennial event. "They, the ages of whom are an average of 23 years, are set to fill the shoes of our aging athletes," Oka said.

The young guns, composed of five male and four female bowlers, will take part in the President Cup here in April, Indocement Cup here in May and the Youth Asian Zone in Seoul, South Korea in June. (05)