Bodybuilding officials shrug off ABBF ban

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Palembang

Bodybuilding officials and coaches have challenged the Asian Bodybuilding Federation (ABBF)'s decision to ban Indonesian bodybuilders now competing in the National Games (PON) from international tournaments for two years.

Considering that international participation was an unlikely prospect for his proteges in the foreseeable future, Yoso Hendrayanto, the West Java bodybuilding team's coach, said the ABBF ban would have little effect.

"We don't care about the sanction imposed by the ABBF. The important thing is that the athletes can still compete in competitions at the national level. For our athletes, competing at the international level is still only a dream so that the ban won't affect them," Yoso told The Jakarta Post at the team's base here on Wednesday.

An official from the Indonesian Bodybuilding Federation (IBF), which is the ABBF's new Indonesian counterpart following the expulsion of the Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) from the ABBF last year for participating in an unrecognized competition, had earlier announced that the 40 bodybuilders participating in PON had been banned from international tournaments for two years.

The ban was handed down after PABBSI was allowed to become involved in the organization of the PON bodybuilding competition, a move that enraged the ABBF.

Following PABBSI's expulsion, the ABBF has now endorsed the newly established IBF as its Indonesian affiliate.

In a similar message of apparent defiance of the ABBF ban, Atok Suhartanto of Yogyakarta said that the PON bodybuilding competition was being held in accordance with the national program to develop bodybuilding in Indonesia.

"I believe it is only fair that at the national level we should continue with the bodybuilding competition," he said.

Yogyakarta has two bodybuilders competing in PON: Yudhistira, who will compete in the +85kg division and Rahman Widodo in the 70kg division, while West Java has four contenders -- Ade Iman (60kg), Edeng Sambas (70kg), Heri Hermawan (75kg) and Dodi Lasmana (+85).

The National Sports Council (KONI)'s indecisive and unclear policy in dealing with the issue may have helped spur the imposition of the ban.

KONI had previously promised to bar PABBSI from taking charge of the bodybuilding competition in response to the ABBF threat, but then failed to fulfill its promise.

The ABBF's ban will affect Indonesia's participation in Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and Asian Games.

The PON bodybuilding competition will be staged at the Novotel Hotel starting on Sunday. Eight gold medals will be on offer.