Deddy urges Pelti to send juniors abroad

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)