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)