Cyclists eying first SEAG gold

Cyclists eying first SEAG gold

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Cycling Association expects to
win the women's 25km Individual Time Trial (ITT), the first gold
medal at stake at 19th SEA Games here in October.

Cycling training chief Didi Sudijanto, said yesterday that
Indonesia will rely on Yogyakarta's Nurhayati, the country's
leading woman rider, who won a gold in the 1993 Games in
Singapore and a silver in the 1995 Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand,
and her younger sister Nuraini, the 1995 SEA Games bronze
medalist.

"We are ready to win the first SEA Games gold," Didi said.

Nurhayati lost to Chaleam Chamchun of Thailand in 1995
because, Didi said, "we suspected the host cheated."

"This year, we are optimistic that Nurhayati and Nuraini will
win the gold and silver in the event," Didi said.

The association also expects to win at least eight of the 16
cycling gold medals.

Didi said that national cyclists will be able to make a clean
sweep from the mountain bike races -- men's and women's cross
country and men's and women's downhill -- which are being
contested for the first time at the Games,.

"Technically our cyclists are still behind Japan, South Korea,
China and Chinese Taipei but we're number one in Southeast Asia,"
he boasted.

Indonesia also has high expectations in the men's sprint,
men's 1,000 meter ITT, 4,000m team pursuit and the women's 3,000m
individual pursuit.

However, the association is optimistic that its cyclists will
be win three more events - the men's 50km ITT, 170km Individual
Road Race and the women's 70km Individual Road Race.

Hockey

In it efforts to perform better in field hockey, the
Indonesian Field Hockey Association has contracted two coaches
from Pakistan; Nasir Ali and Chaudary Tanwir Arsyad.

They said yesterday at the hockey training center in Lampung
that Indonesian athletes have improved their physical and
technical skills.

Ali, who guided the Pakistan national team to two Olympic
golds, said that the training center, which is located in a
plantation owned by the association's chairman Rajkumar Singh, is
a suitable place for coaching athletes.

Antara reported that all athletes, despite some fasting, were
still practicing yesterday afternoon.

The SEA Games training director Djoko Pramono, on a visit to
the center, encouraged the athletes to keep up their fighting
spirit during practice.

The national hockey team initially planned to go to Australia
in May and to India and Pakistan in July and August for overseas
training.

But Singh said that the association has plans to sign two
other foreign coaches, and to cancel the plan to go abroad. (yan)