Deddy urges Pelti to send juniors abroad

JAKARTA (JP): National coach Deddy Prasetyo is urging the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) to send more junior players for training and tournaments overseas instead of increasing the number of international tennis events in Indonesia.

Deddy argued on Thursday that sending juniors abroad was not as costly as holding tournaments featuring foreign players in which the organizer would have to take care of referee and court fees, plus accommodation and transportation for players.

"Pelti must give more chances for juniors to compete in the International Tennis Federation tournaments overseas as part of its training programs," he said.

Deddy, head of Pelti's junior development program, also appealed to the organization to find sponsors to finance the junior players participation in tournaments.

Deddy said that two national players, Febi Widhiyanto and Hendri Susilo Pramono, entered into a sponsorship agreement with Allianz Life Indonesia, a German-based insurance company in June.

The sponsorship allows the players, who are part of Deddy's club, to train in Stuttgart for nearly three months and play on two clubs around the city.

Febi and Hendri will also look into the possibility of challenging top players in the first division of the German tennis league next year. Both have to compete in more than 20 tournaments in a year to reach an ATP ranking in the 300s.

Deddy said that organizing long-term training for players was also ineffective.

"It's much more effective to combine training and competitions for players as tennis is a 'perspective' sport."

Pelti usually trains players for about three months for each major competition, such as the Davis or Fed cups, and for multisports event including the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and the Asian Games.

Pelti chairman Tanri Abeng acknowledged on Wednesday that Indonesia was lagging far behind Asian countries in training junior players, who are expected to be able to represent the country in world tournaments including the Olympics. He expressed concern about the national players' slight chance of qualifying for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Tanri, who is also state minister of the empowerment of state enterprises, urged his officials to focus on improving training methods for players aged from 12 years to 15 years.

He also said that Pelti would increase the number of local tournaments featuring international players in an attempt to allow local players to test their skills. (ivy)