China not hopeful at Asian c'ship

China not hopeful at Asian c'ship

JAKARTA (JP): China admitted yesterday that the absence of
supercoach Ma Junren and his women runners would jeopardize its
title defense attempt at the 11th Asian Track and Field
Championships here.

"I think we have suffered a big loss since Mr. Ma was
sidelined from the national team," said Huang Zhi, Secretary-
General of the Chinese Athletic Association.

Ma, renowned for his magic potion and the herculean training
methods that led his runners to world record breaking strides in
1993, is currently taking a long rest after a car accident in
January. Huang said Ma was getting better but could not return to
his old job.

"A national coaching job is not a permanent one. We have
numerous coaches who have to pass a selection program to train
the national team," Huang said.

"Mr. Ma cannot even join the national team for the Olympic
Games next year because we only have less than one year for
preparations," he added.

Huang also said that Ma's runners, including women's 1,500m
record holder Qu Yunxia, did not qualify for the Asian track and
field meet since they no longer train regularly.

China comes into the biennial event, scheduled to start
tomorrow, with newcomers spearheading its title defense campaign.

"We will not expect too much from our athletes but to provide
them with a great deal of experiences in their ongoing
preparations for the Olympic Games next year," Huang said.

"We want to raise the standards of our young athletes who are
being groomed for the Olympics," he added.

Wang Junxia, the women's 10,000m world record holder and Ma's
deserted runner, and several athletes who donned the national
colors in the World Championships in Gothenburg last month are
also part of the team line up. But Huang has opted for a low
profile.

"Japan and Central Asian teams are our strong contenders," he
said.

Wang, who is seeking 5,000m and 10,000m victories here, warmed
up for the championships at the Madya Senayan stadium yesterday.

The track and field meet, held here for the second time, will
miss several big names, but the organizers denied that it would
lose any vitality.

"We always suffer from this problem of several teams not
bringing their best athletes. But generally the participants meet
the Asian standards," Maurice Nicholas, Vice President of the
Asian Amateur Athletic Association (AAAA), told a press
conference yesterday.

AAAA's plenary congress, highlighted by the election for the
association's presidency, will precede the five-day championships
today. Nicholas made it clear that the incumbent president
Mohammad "Bob" Hasan has come out as the red-hot favorite.

"Mr. Hasan has a good track record, and I don't think he will
have any problems serving a second four-year term," Nicholas
said.

El-Dasthi of Kuwait is the other candidate vying for the top
job, but Nicholas said AAAA still needs the Indonesian timber
tycoon to attract sponsorships. "Mr. Hasan is the right person to
make Asian athletics more attractive and better in quality," he
said. (amd)