Blame game begins for SEAG defeat

Blame game begins for SEAG defeat

Musthofid and Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Another day, another loss, another beating for national sports
pride.

The national under 23 men's soccer team fell in the semifinals
on Friday, outclassed in a 1-3 defeat by reigning champion
Thailand in Bacolod City at the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The loss of Indonesia -- the last country to win the soccer
title at the regional multisport championships in 1991 before
Thailand began its domination of the competition -- underscored
the decline of national athletes.

With 29 gold as of Friday, the national contingent was
struggling in fifth place in the overall medal standings, a
position it is likely to retain when the Games wrap on Monday.

It would be the lowest finish for the country since its
winning debut 28 years ago at the Kuala Lumpur Games.

On Friday morning, chef de mission Djoko Pramono admitted that
it would be impossible for the national contingent to reach its
pre-Games target of second place overall, but told the public
that there was no need to "go berserk" about the failure.

He offered a host of reasons -- from a lack of preparation of
athletes to poor coaching standards -- for the comedown of the
nine-time overall champion,Antara news service said.

A major reason was the better preparation of other countries,
he said on a visit to the chess competition in Tagaytay City,
outside Manila.

"Other countries prepared their athletes years in advance,
while we only did it for a few months," he said, adding that
national sport was a "complicated" issue.

"But if you look at athletes in the (elite training program)
Indonesia Awakens from the past 18 months, it's clear they can
compete with their opponents."

He also faulted coaches, saying only a few of those in the
Philippines were up to international standard, including in being
able to follow developments in their sport.

"Most of them have never been online or seldom do so," Djoko
said, noting that a major hindrance to their gaining knowledge
was poor English skills.

He took heart from the outstanding performance of athletes in
karate and cycling -- two of the 17 sports in the elite program
-- and said there were plans to expand it to other "traditionally
run" sports.

For former top 20 tennis player Yayuk Basuki, who competed in
her first SEA Games at the age of 14 in 1985 and collected three
gold over the years, professional leadership is the key needed to
putting national sports back on track.

"To me, they must have a plan -- they can't just stop working
after the Games are over," the former top 20 player told The
Jakarta Post on Friday.

"In my opinion, we have to be more professional. There is no
fixed plan right now, and we always blame something."

Yayuk believed it was unfair to blame the coaches -- "they
weren't as good as they are now 20 years ago, but we were
winning ..." -- but it would take going back to the basics to
find future champions.

"In the last five years, it (the decline) has been really
clear to me. We need to get a talent scouting program together
for schools and somebody to put it together from city to city."

Djoko refused comment later on in the afternoon after the
nation took only five gold from 34 events. As for State Minister
of Youth Affairs and Sports Adhyaksa Dault, he has been "busy
with his state agenda ... he is expected in the next couple of
days", former badminton champion Icuk Sugiarto told The Jakarta
Post on Friday.

By that time, Indonesia will be licking its wounds.