Central Java dominates junior track and field

Central Java dominates junior track and field

JAKARTA (JP): Central Java scooped five gold medals on the
final day of the Indonesia Open junior track and field
championships on Saturday, romping home with the overall title in
the four-day meet.

Victories from 1,500-meter runner Tri Asih Handayani, sprinter
Sih Hernawati, the girls' 400m relay team, shot putter Indri
Astuti and 5,000m runner Ferry Junaedi brought Central Java's
medals tally to 11 golds, nine silvers and nine bronzes.

Irian Jaya finished a distant second with five golds, four
silvers and four bronzes. It narrowly beat East Java.

South Sumatra's Nyoman Ray Trisand leapt 12.23 meters in the
girls' triple jump to set the only record on the final day. The
meet saw at total of nine new records set. She beat her own
record jump of 11.98m, set last year.

Central Java's victory celebration turned sour, however, when
its coaching pair of Bambang Siswoyo and Yon Daryono threatened
Indonesia's ASEAN Student Championships campaign here next
weekend by asking their athletes to skip the bi-yearly
competition.

Bambang said he wanted his young athletes to boycott the
championships to protest the Indonesian Track and Field
Association's decision to pass he and his partner over as
national team coaches for the June 15 to June 16 meet.

"We are very disappointed with their decision to exclude us.
They should have known that our athletes will make up the most
team in the ASEAN student meet," Bambang complained.

The junior championship team is comprised of 40 girls and
boys, 10 of whom come from Central Java. The national team has
set the modest target of finishing second in the two-day meet.
(amd)

Leading medals tally:

G S B
Central Java 11 9 9
Irian Jaya 5 4 4
East Java 5 2 3
West Java 4 6 6
South Sumatra 4 0 1
W. Nusa Tenggara 3 2 3
North Sumatra 2 0 2
Jakarta 1 6 4
Maluku 1 2 0
Jambi 1 0 1