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.