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