Indonesia likely to give Asian Games soccer a miss

Indonesia likely to give Asian Games soccer a miss

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia appears poised to bail out of the
soccer competition of the 12th Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan
this October.

Executive chairman of the national sports governing body
(KONI) Soeweno said yesterday that the All-Indonesia Football
Association (PSSI) had already bowed out due to the strict
standards applied by KONI.

"Mr. Azwar Anas (PSSI chairman) could not convince us that our
national soccer team would take a medal during the Games,"
Soeweno said.

KONI's official in charge of the national training camp Arnold
Lisapaly added: "Mr. Azwar undoubtedly knows his team well. His
withdrawal should reflect PSSI's stance."

Azwar, who is also Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare,
met Soeweno and Arnold on Monday and said the decision to send
Indonesian booters to the Oct. 2-16 Games rested with KONI.

Later on Monday PSSI Harimau, powered by the country's best
footballers, succumbed to Thailand 5-3 in a penalty shootout in
the Independence Day Cup final in Surabaya, East Java. The sides
had been tied at 1-1 after both regulation and 30 minutes of
extra time.

Soeweno said that winning a medal in Hiroshima was a long shot
at best. KONI had required that the national team win the
tournament held to commemorate the country's 49th Independence
Day in order to participate in the Asiad.

"Even if they managed to take the crown, KONI needs to re-
think it's stance given the quality of the overseas teams which
took part in the tournament," said Soeweno. He expressed grave
doubts that South Korea, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore
fielded their best teams at the meet.

Asian solidarity

Indonesia's move will likely bring the number of no-shows to
five. Brunei has already pulled out, while Mongolia, Yemen and
India are on the verge of quitting.

Indonesia is drawn to meet the South Korean World Cup team,
China and Kazakhstan in their Group E qualifying round.

Secretary general of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Peter Velappan and national football legend Maladi have urged
KONI to allow PSSI to compete in the Games, saying that the goal
of taking part in Asiad is maintaining Asian solidarity.

"We consider the athletes who qualify for the Games based
solely on their performances, without involving non-technical
reasons," Soeweno argued.

KONI plans to field a national team made of between 120 and
150 athletes in 16 events. KONI will announce the names of the
athletes on Aug. 26.

Also yesterday, KONI approved a proposal to include four
women's and four men's swimmers in Indonesia's Asian Games squad.
The national swimming federation (PRSI) was given a week to
shortlist eight of the 11 swimmers who recently completed a two-
month training stint in the United States. (amd)