Five lifters axed from RI squad

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian weightlifting governing body PABBSI has removed five lifters from the Asian Games squad after "they failed to meet the parameters set by the National Sports Council (KONI)".

The five lifters are Joko Hanggono, Junaedi, Yudi Suhartono, Sri Indriyani and Sri Hartati.

"We have come to a judgment that they failed to meet KONI's parameters," Gandrung, the executive director of PABBSI, said on Monday.

With their departure, at least one more would likely be added to the squad as Gandrung disclosed a plan to recruit Sunarto, a 24-year-old from Jakarta.

Hadi Wihardja, who is in charge of technical affairs, said that the five generally had not shown any improvement during the training program, which started in January.

"Yudi Hartono was still struggling in his 85-kilogram class. His best lifts are a distant 60 kilograms below the Asian record, And Joko and Junaedi were even worse," he said.

PABBSI, which also governs powerlifting and bodybuilding, has left out Sri Indriyani because it doubted that the former world junior champion would excel after her recent marriage, while Sri Hartati failed at a junior event in Thailand early this month.

The elimination of the five now leaves the weightlifting organization with seven hopefuls: Yadi Setiyadi, Nusyanto, Misdan Yunip, Erwin Abdullah (male), Lisa Rumbewas, Tanti Pratiwi and Rosmaniar.

Lisa, Tanti and Erwin have just returned from Qatar where they took part in the All-Star Weightlifting Championships last week, with Gandrung saying that the three had fared up to expectations and that they should be able to improve their performance at the Asian Games in four months time.

Lisa won a silver medal in the women's 48-kilogram division, while Tanti and Erwin had to be content with bronzes in the women's 58kg class and men's 77kg class respectively.