Indonesian archers join Coq Championships

Indonesian archers join Coq Championships

JAKARTA (JP): Nine leading national archers will represent
Indonesia in the 8th Coq French Archery Tournament in France from
May 11 to May 15.

Their participation in the prestigious event, to be held in
Montelimar, Lyon, is part of the their preparation for both the
18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai Thailand and the 38th
World Archery Championships in Jakarta.

The athletes, four women and five men, are to leave for Lyon
on Monday. The women are Nurfitriana Lantang, Rusena Gelanteh
Dahliana and Hamdiah. The men are Gatot Ariyanto, Dito Rembrandt,
Hendra Setiawan, Wilson Pane and Heri Purianto.

Twenty five countries have registered their entry in the
French tournament, an Indonesian Archery Association (Perpani)
official said yesterday.

Nurfitriana, together with Lilies Handayani and Purnama
Pandiangan, gained a silver medal for Indonesia at the Seoul
Olympics in Sept. 1988.

Rusena and Dahliana, together with Purnama Pandiangan, both
won silver medals at the Hiroshima 12th Asian Games in October
last year.

Hamdiah was a bronze medalist in the women's individual event
at the Singapore Southeast Asian Games two years ago.

Wilson Pane, Hendra Setiawan and Gatot Ariyanto, won the gold
medals in the men's team at the 1993 Southeast Asian Games in
Singapore. Dito Rembrandt won the National Junior Champion title
last year.

Heri Purianto is a young hope in the compound event.

All the archers except Heri will compete in the recurve
individual and team events. Heri will only compete in the men's
individual compound event.

Perpani deputy secretary-general Udi Harsono told reporters
yesterday that Indonesia had set no target for the open French
tournament. "This is just part of our preparation for both the
SEA Games and the World Championships," he said.

The 18th SEA Games will be held from Dec. 9 to Dec. 17. The
38th World Target Outdoor Archery Championships will be held in
Senayan's ABC and Archery fields, Jakarta, from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6.

Perpani training director Nana Kosasih said that since many
European countries will take part in the French tournament, it
will provide a good opportunity for the Indonesian archers to
test their skills against their European counterparts.

The archery team met yesterday with National Sports Council
chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar to say goodbye before leaving for
the Lyon tournament.

Catherine

Meanwhile, Wismoyo rejected yesterday West Java's appeal that
swimmer Catherine Surya be included in its provincial Games in
Serang, slated for Sept. 9 to Sept. 16, just one week before her
two-year ban expires.

"She must not be fielded in any championships before the end
of the ban," Wismoyo said.

The West Javanese swimmer was banned for steroid use after a
startling performance at the 1993 National Games in Jakarta,
where she romped home with seven golds and five new records.

Despite the ban, Catherine is among the swimmers Indonesia
will field in the upcoming SEA Games in Chiang Mai.

For the SEA Games preparation, Wismoyo said, she does not have
to wait until her ban expires. "She is free to train together
with the other members of the national team and join the
centralized intensive training program," he added. (arf)