Indonesia expects to get three boxing tickets to Atlanta
Indonesia expects to get three boxing tickets to Atlanta
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia expects to get three boxing tickets to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, officials said yesterday.
Imron ZS, executive director of the Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association (Pertina), and Paul Toding, Pertina's chairman, told reporters here yesterday that five Indonesian boxers will take part in the Mayor's Cup event in Cebu, Philippines, which is also a selection event for the Olympic Games.
"We will send La Paene Masara, Hendrik Simangunsong, Pino Bahari, Hermensen Ballo and Arthur Rambing to the Mayor's Cup," Toding said.
"Nemo Bahari is the only Indonesian boxer who has got the ticket," he added.
Imron said that the association has considered improving the boxers' skills, especially after their losses at the 18th Southeast Asian Games, and considering the predicted strength of their rivals.
Citing an example, Imron said that as Thailand and the Philippines have got their tickets for the under 48-kgs category, Indonesia will have a better opportunity to get one.
"If we are lucky, we hope that three of the five boxers will get tickets to the Olympic Games," he added.
"They all have big opportunities to get into the final," Toding said, "Maybe Ballo will have a difficult time because he didn't take part in the SEA Games."
Meanwhile, Ballo said that he will face Elias Ricaido of the Philippines and Ahmedov Dirkmatula of Uzbekhistan, which he considers the toughest rivals at the tournament.
"If I could beat them both, I'm sure I'll get the Olympic ticket," he said.
Imron said that Ballo will be fielded weighing 51 kgs because the pugilist is not disciplined in taking care of his weight.
"Ballo should be fielded in the under 48-kgs category, but he is always two or three kilograms heavier than the weight limit," Imron explained.
"However, Ballo was fielded at the Karachi Open last year and he earned a silver medal," he added.
Earlier, Simangunsong told reporters that he boxed very badly at the SEA Games. He intended to get into the final at the Mayor's Cup.
"I don't want to box as badly as I did in Chiang Mai," he said emotionally.
Simangunsong said that he could not concentrate on his moves during the final match because he was preoccupied with the Rp 25 million (US$10,900) cash bonus he would receive if he could win the match.
"I had thought about buying a new house by using the money so I won't have to rent a house anymore," he said, "I had also thought to quit boxing after the SEA Games."
After his loss, Simangunsong said he would not quit boxing, as long as he could continue to fight.
Meanwhile, in a bid to grab more berths at this year's Olympic Games in Atlanta, Indonesia will send five boxers to the Major's Cup Amateur Boxing Tournament in Cebu, the Philippines, scheduled for Jan. 8 - 18.
Boxers
The five boxers are La Paene Masara (48kg), Hermensen Ballo (51kg), Arthur Rambing (54kg), Hendrik Simangunsong (71kg) and Pino Bahari (75kg), a gold medalist in the 1993 Asian Games in Beijing.
Ballo, originally a lightflyweight, was not fielded in the just concluded 18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, because he was overweight. He is now placed in the flyweight division.
Unlike the previous Major's Cup tournaments, this year's tournament serves as the second qualifying round for Asian countries for the Atlanta Olympic Games. Hence, only Asian countries are eligible to enter for the tournament which offers a total of 22 Olympic berths.
The 22 berths are reserved for 20 finalists from the 48kg (light flyweight) to the 81kg (light heavyweight) categories plus two gold medalists from the heavyweight (91kg) and superheavyweight (more than 91kg) classes.
So far, there is only one Indonesian boxer, Nemo Michel Bahari, who has secured an Olympic berth. Nemo, featherweight champion of last year's President Cup tournament in Jakarta, won his Olympic berth when he became finalist of the 18th Asian Amateur Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in October last year.
Nemo won the silver medal after falling 3-4 to Tilegenov Bakhtiyar of Kazakhstan. The Taskhkent championships were the first qualifying-round for the Olympic Games. Pertina has decided to send five of Nemo's teammates to Cebu.
If the five fail in Cebu, they will still have their last chance to win an Olympic berth at the King's Cup Amateur Boxing Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, scheduled for Feb. 25 to March 2, which will serve as the third and last qualifying round for Asian countries to win tickets to Atlanta.
Pertina secretary-general Didiet Soedijoto said yesterday that the National Sports Council had expected that at least four Indonesian boxers would be eligible for the Summer Games. (arf/05)