Indonesia aims to be Asian best in judo
Indonesia aims to be Asian best in judo
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will send eight judokas to South Korea for a six-year training program in its quest to become Asia's powerhouse in the sport.
Putu Denok, training director of the Indonesian Judo Association, said after a hearing with the National Sports Council yesterday that the eight athletes, comprising four males and four females, would go to public schools while undergoing intensive training sessions.
Putu said that the ambitious program will start this year, but refused to disclose the names of selected athletes or the date of their departure.
"The focus of our project is grooming them for Asian-level competitions by the year 2002," Putu said.
Putu said that Indonesia has long been dubbed the judo powerhouse in Southeast Asia, and now needs to improve its performance to an even more prestigious level.
Indonesian judokas have always met their medal target in the Southeast Asian Games. They romped home with 10 gold medals in 1989 and 1991. In the last SEA Games, Indonesia grabbed nine medals, two more than their target.
"We are going to maintain our performance in the SEA Games here next year," Putu said, adding that 65 percent of the Indonesian judo team for the 1995 Games will form the national team for the 1997 Games. "They are still young and qualified for the event," he said.
Putu said that Krisna Bayu and Aprilia Marzuki, who earned two gold medals each, are strongly touted as the backbone of the Indonesian SEA Games team next year.
Putu said that the association will select additional judokas during the National Games this September. "We expect to recruit new faces from the National Games," he said.
Speaking about Indonesia's participation in the upcoming Olympic Games in Atlanta in July, Putu said that the association has asked for two wild cards from the International Olympic Committee for the country's young hopes, Krisna and Aprilia.
Indonesia, sending a second string team, failed to win an Olympic berth in the final qualifying round for the Olympic judo competition in November last year. (05)