Indonesia enlists 132 athletes for Asian Games
Indonesia enlists 132 athletes for Asian Games
JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) will boast a
contingent of 132 athletes from 19 sports in the Asian Games in
Bangkok in December.
Training director Mochamad Hindarto said on Thursday that the
entry form for the national team was sent on Monday. However, it
was subject to change pending the final decision on the fate of
the soccer team by midnight on Thursday.
The Bangkok Asian Games Organizing Committee (BAGOC) set
midnight deadline for submission of entry forms.
"We are expecting a request by the chairman to make a last-
minute inclusion of the soccer team before midnight," Hindarto
said.
The council dropped soccer from the list of sports Indonesia
would take part in at the 13th Asiad following the national
soccer team's failure to meet the target of at least reaching the
Tiger Cup final last week.
To add insult to injury, the team was fined US$40,000
following a disgraceful performance against Thailand in the final
round-robin game on Monday last week.
Indonesia finished third after beating Thailand on penalties
in a playoff last Saturday.
On Wednesday, newly appointed chairman of the All Indonesian
Soccer Federation, Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar, said he would ask the
sports council chairman, Wismoyo Arismunandar, to send the team
to the Asiad.
But council deputy chairman Arie Sudewo maintained on Thursday
he would oppose any plan to extend the soccer team leniency.
"We have been committed to send only medal-winning hopefuls to
the quadrennial event," Arie said.
"I haven't met with Pak Wismoyo. I don't know if he will apply
a special policy on the soccer team."
The draw for the Asiad soccer competition will be made on
Monday. The Games will be held from Dec. 6 to Dec. 20.
Additions
Indonesia will compete in archery, track and field, badminton,
boxing, canoeing, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, judo, karate,
rowing, sepak takraw, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, tennis,
weightlifting, wushu and windsurfing.
Archery was a last-minute addition following the national
women's team's success in landing a bronze in the Asian
Championship in Myanmar early this month. The achievement met the
council's minimal requirement to qualify for the Asiad.
Seventy-two of 132 athletes headed to Bangkok are men.
Team members started their centralized training program here
on Sept. 1.
The number of registered athletes is 10 more than the previous
list unveiled by the council a couple weeks ago, due to the
inclusion of 10 more sepak takraw athletes. The council is
allowing the sepak takraw team to also compete in the regu event,
in which teams of three players compete in best-of-three
contests.
Hindarto said that once participating countries submitted
their entry forms, they would be fined for any withdrawal from
events.
He said the amount of the fine was not mentioned in the
guidelines.
Arie said the council had yet to decide if the squad would
travel to Bangkok by Air Force aircraft or commercial airlines.
"If we consider efficiency, then we would prefer cheap
commercial airlines instead of military planes," he said.
Hindarto said he was calculating expenses of the team. (yan)