Indonesia Olympic archery team named

Indonesia Olympic archery team named

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Archery Association announced
yesterday that Nurfitriyana Lantang and sisters Dahliana and
Hamdiah Damanhuri will comprise the Indonesian archery team in
the Atlanta Olympic Games next month.

"Based on their records during the national training program,
I place big hopes on them to earn a medal at the Olympics,"
Oetojo Oesman, chairman of the national archery body, said during
a simulation match at the Senayan archery range yesterday.

The Olympic team completed their simulation with a 227-234
loss to the men's trio of Pranajaya, Ditto Rembrandt and Sumardi
yesterday.

National coach Daniel Lumalesil said that his archers will
keep their medal-winning chance open if they can managed to
maintain the form they have shown during their training program.

Lumalesil predicted that the women's trio, who won Indonesia's
sole bronze in the World Championships here last year, have to
score at least 240 points to grab a medal.

Their highest score so far is 242. Dahliana carries the best
record during the four-month training stint with 650. She is
followed by Hamdiah, who managed 645 and Nurfitriyana, with 631.

The trio canceled their plan for two try-outs in the Atlanta
Grand Prix in April and in an international tournament in
Slovenia last month after Lumalesil learned about their exhausted
state.

The association also called on Purnama Pandiangan for the
Olympic selection. Purnama earned the country's first-ever
Olympic medal, together with Nurfitriyana and Lilies Handayani.

But national coaches denied Purnama her Olympic place, saying
that she failed to show progress and looked like she would need a
long time to recover.

Indonesia qualified for the Olympics after grabbing a bronze
medal at the World Championships last year.

Dahliana and Hamdiah, making their Olympic debut, pledged to
do their best. The Olympic archery competition will take place at
the Stone Mountain Park, about 25.6 kilometers from the Olympic
Center in Atlanta.

Antara reported that both Dahliana and Hamdiah recently each
received a US$2,000 bonus from East Kalimantan Governor HM Ardans
for their commendable showing. (yan)