C. Java governor asks 2nd place

SEMARANG (JP): Central Java governor Mardiyanto asked his athletes to strive for the runner up position in the 15th National Games (PON) in Surabaya starting Monday.

"In previous Games we only finished fourth after Jakarta, East Java and West Java. Hopefully this year we can finish second," he said Saturday.

"If it is too much for our athletes, they should be able to improve our standing by taking the third position, beating arch rivals East Java and West Java."

Central Java, which is sending 352 athletes to the games, expects to collect 65 gold medals. The administration is offering a cash bonus of Rp 20 million (US$2,350) to any gold medalists, Rp 10 million to silver medalists and Rp 5 million to bronze medalists. (har)