Former tennis star Mien passes away

Former tennis star Mien passes away

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia lost its former women's tennis star
Mien Gondowijoyo when she passed away on Wednesday morning at the
Pelni Hospital at 6.24 a.m. due to complications from diabetes
mellitus.

Her body was taken from the hospital to her residence on Jl.
Olahraga 6, Kemanggisan, West Jakarta, before being sent to her
hometown in Madiun, East Java.

Mien, who was born in Madiun on Dec. 25, 1937, is survived by
two children, one of whom resides in Australia. Mien had been
hospitalized for two weeks.

Mien grabbed the bronze medal in the 1962 Asian Games in
Jakarta. It was her highest achievement as a tennis player.

After retiring from tennis, Mien started coaching and she
produced big local tennis stars including, Yustedjo Tarik, Tintus
Arianto Wibowo, Suharjadi and Wailan Walalangi.

Mien also took Yayuk Basuki and Suzana Anggarkusumah to win
the women's doubles gold medal at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul.

Mien had also served as a staff of the now defunct state
minister of sports and youth affairs office, director of the
Indonesian Sports College and secretary-general of the Indonesian
Sportswomen Association (Perwosi).

The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) chairman Tanri Abeng
and Pelti official in charge of competition Subronto Laras urged
attendees at the Davis Cup drawing to give a moment of silence in
her memory.

One of Mien's best friends, Dangsina Moeloek, said Mien was a
hard worker and she had produced top athletes in the country.

"It's really difficult to find someone as dedicated as Mien,
who was willing to work really hard, ignoring the time," she
said.

Tintus said that he lost a coach who had been giving him lots
of knowledge on the sport.

"I miss her a lot. When she was being treated at the hospital,
I had a chance to visit her and also collected funds from my
friends to help her family with the medical expenses," he said,
as quoted by Antara. (yan)