Foreign karatekas cancel RI trip

JAKARTA: Jordan and Uzbekistan have canceled plans to participate in the Indonesia Open karate tournament, which begins on Tuesday at the Bung Karno Indoor Tennis Stadium.

"The Jordan team did not give us an explanation for its cancellation. As for the Uzbeks, they wanted us to provide them with air tickets, but we only see to the participants' accommodations," Fauzi Saidi, a member of the tournament's organizing committee, said on Monday.

A total of 157 athletes from 16 countries will take part in the three-day tournament, in which the host county will compete with two teams.

The participating countries are Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. --JP