Indonesia may cut team to Hiroshima Asian games

Indonesia may cut team to Hiroshima Asian games

JAKARTA (JP): Several national athletic bodies will
voluntarily drop athletes who fail to make progress during their
final training sessions prior to the 12th Asian Games in
Hiroshima next month.

Executive chairman of the national governing sports body
(KONI), Soeweno, said yesterday that a considerable number of
boxers and cyclists will be omitted when the national contingent
is announced tomorrow.

"We welcome any and all federations that alter their team
lineups, and we have approved changes until Wednesday," said
Soeweno. The Games organizers have set Sept. 2 as the deadline
for countries to confirm their entry forms with the names of
their athletes.

The organizers have long complained about the exceeding number
of participants at the quadrennial event. As of Sept. 2, they
received some 8,000 athletes and officials from 42 countries, 700
people more than they had expected.

KONI chairman Surono is scheduled to swear in the national
squad in a ceremony tomorrow. He announced on Aug. 26 that the
team would include 151 sportsmen and women who will compete in 23
gold medal events during the Oct. 2-16 Games.

Officials of the national amateur boxing body (Pertina) told
Soeweno on Saturday that their original team of seven might be
cut to only four or five.

"We will decide after our pugilists return from their training
in Cuba," Pertina secretary general Didit Soedijoto said. Seven
boxers, including Pino Bahari, middleweight gold medalist in the
1991 meet, are undergoing one month of overseas training in a bid
to win two golds in October's Asiad.

Didit declined to name the probable sideliners, but did say
that Pino and his younger brother featherweight Nemo had been
assured of their places.

The national cycling body (ISSI) has also reduced its squad
from 10 to only five, following the results of their final test
at the end of August.

Last week, six riders were cut from the team. They were Deddy
Resdian, Suwandra, Mohammad Nur, Teguh Eko Pambudi, Deddy Effendi
and Yudi Febrianto. The fifth man on the team going to the games
is recent newcomer Dadang Haris Purnomo.

Soeweno also hinted yesterday that KONI had covered its set
budget of Rp 3 billion (US$1.38 million) used to finance the
daily expenses of the athletes during the 14-day competitions.

However, Soeweno refused to go into details about the
financial sources. KONI received checks worth Rp 1.6 billion
($738,000) from five businessmen last month.

The national team will leave for Hiroshima separately,
starting Sept. 25. Indonesian shuttlers will be on the last
embarkment on Oct. 4, three days before badminton competitions
begin. (amd)