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)