Indonesia revives President's Cup boxing championship in Batam
Indonesia revives President's Cup boxing championship in Batam
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After a four-year hiatus, Indonesia will hold the President's
Cup boxing championship from Dec. 9 to Dec. 18 in Batam, Riau
islands.
The head of the organizing committee, Toto Heryanto, said
here on Monday that 15 countries had confirmed their
participation in the 20th President Cup.
"We invited 32 countries and 15 countries have already
confirmed their participation," Toto, who is also deputy chairman
of the Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association (Pertina), said.
"Defending champion Mexico will not attend the event due to
financial problems, while Germany and Italy will not send
representatives because they say the tournament is too close to
Christmas and the New Year," he said.
He added that 10 of the 15 countries had already submitted the
names of their boxers to the committee.
The 10 countries are Kazakstan, which will compete with 10
boxers, Chinese Taipei (10), South Korea (10), Vietnam (9), India
(8), Japan (6), Brunei (7), Sri Lanka (6), Nepal (3) and Laos
(3).
Thailand, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia
are expected to submit the names of their boxers soon.
The tournament was originally held annually to mark
Independence Day on Aug. 17. Since the 1997 economic crisis,
financial constraints have prevented the tournament from being a
yearly event.
The last President Cup was held in Bali in 2000 and featured
20 countries.
Indonesia will field three teams at the tournament: Rajawali
with 10 boxers, Garuda with six and Elang with five. The boxers
are currently preparing at the national training center.
Dastesa Moniaga, a 19-year-old flyweight and gold medalist at
the recent National Games, is among Indonesia's best hopes at the
event, along with Dadan Amanda, Benget Simorangkir and Atris
Neolaka.
The Indonesian boxing association had originally listed
another seven boxers who were to compete in the tournament, but
they were forced to withdraw due to family and other personal
commitments, according to Pertina secretary-general Bambang
Asmanu
The President Cup will feature 10 weight classes, from 45
kilograms to 81 kilograms.
"We have not set any targets for our boxers. We just hope they
can perform their best," Bambang said, adding that boxers from
Kazakstan, Thailand and South Korea would be among the hot
favorites.