Hurdler Eddy sets modest target for Grand Prix

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Slowed by an abdominal strain suffered last week, 110-meter hurdler Eddy Zakaria is keeping a conservative target for the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix 2005 in Sidoarjo, East Java.

Eddy, whose personal best is 14.11 from the Athens Olympics, said he hoped to improve on his fastest time this year, 14.36, set in April at the Islamic Solidarity Games.

The 2004 National Games champion from East Java said the target was all that could be expected after he missed training for a week due to the abdominal strain.

He added that he would be able to compete with Thai athlete Wongsriphuck Suphan, but it would be difficult to beat athletes from China and Japan.

"I will see how my competitor from Thailand performs as I heard he had practiced in Europe."

Eddy is the only Indonesian athlete who is eligible to participate in the three series of Asian Grand Prix 2005 thanks to his time in Athens.

Apart from Wongsriphuck, whose personal best is 13.97 seconds, other major rivals for the Sidoarjo leg are Asgari Rohollan of Iran (13.80) and Wu Youjia of China (13.67).

In the first series of Asian Grand Prix, with 127 athletes from 19 countries, the host is the biggest delegation with 28 athletes, consisting of 16 men's and 12 women's athletes respectively.

India is second with 24 athletes, followed by China and Kazakhstan (12 each), Uzbekistan and Thailand (eight), Iran (seven) and the Philippines (five).

Contingents with four or fewer athletes include South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

The one-day grand prix will feature the 100, 400, and 800 meters, the 110-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put and javelin throw for men; and the 100, 400, 1,500 meters, 400 meters hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put and discus throw for women.

The second leg will be held on June 21 in Singapore, while the final series in Thailand will begin on June 24.

Winners of each event in the Asian Grand Prix take home prize money of US$2,500, while runners-up and third place finishers receive $700 and $400 respectively.