Indonesia eyes two golds in bowling at SEA Games
Indonesia eyes two golds in bowling at SEA Games
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bowling Association has set a
target of two gold medals at the 18th Southeast Asian Games in
Thailand, even though the National Sports Council has projected
that the bowling team will win only one.
"We have better chance of winning in the men's and women's
quintet events in particular. But our men's singles are also
quite promising. I think it's reasonable enough to target two
gold medals," head coach Jimmy Liem said over the weekend.
It is true that, so far, Indonesia has never captured more
than one gold medal from the SEA Games' bowling competitions.
Yet, Indonesia's chance of winning in all bowling events is by no
means less than that of host Thailand or the other Southeast
Asian rivals, he added.
Jimmy was speaking to reporters during a visit of the sports
council chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar to the bowling
association's centralized training center in Ancol, North
Jakarta.
His optimism is based on the assumption that bowlers who notch
average points of more 200 stand the biggest chance of nailing
victories at the Games and that many Indonesian bowlers have
already attained those averages.
David Sitorus, one of the association's bowlers who is
training at the association's training center, has collected an
average of 210, while the 1993 SEA Games men's singles gold
medalist scored 216 on average.
Competitors
Host Thailand, Jimmy said, has very strong bowlers in the
men's and women's triple events, while Malaysia and the
Philippines would be strong in the singles, duet or all events.
Oke F. Supit, the association's chairman, said he would
announce the SEA Games-bound national team lineup on Oct. 16,
shortly after evaluating the results of the National Bowling
Championships.
"Twenty bowlers are undergoing a series of rigorous stints at
the training center now. But the team for the Games will consist
of only 12 bowlers," he added.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Sepak Takraw Association has set
itself the modest target of just "making some improvements." It
won only a bronze medal at the last SEA Games in Singapore two
years ago.
"We are grooming 18 athletes, who will be shortlisted to 12
for the Chiang Mai SEA Games," said Muslim Denny, the
association's deputy secretary.
The athletes will have a series of tryouts in Malaysia,
including the Piala Isa Sepak Takraw Championships, slated for
Oct. 26 to Oct. 29 in Seremban, as well as some other events in
Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. (arf)