Indonesian girls tennis team gains top seeding

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian girls tennis team is at the top of the seeding list while the boys are at the bottom in the qualifying round of the Asia Oceania zone of the NEC World Youth Cup 2000.

Besides Indonesia, the participants of the championships, which start on Tuesday and will continue until May 14, are Chinese Taipei, Australia, China, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.

The girls team, comprising Indonesia's top player Angelique Widjaja, Novianti and Diana Nur Fatimah, are the favorites of this event which is being staged at Senayan tennis court here.

The Chinese Taipei girls team is the second seeded, followed by Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand and India.

The boys team of Eko Kurniawan, Naharudin and Harris Ernanda Tedjokusumo, are in eighth position, while the top post belongs to Chinese Taipei.

The Australian boys team is seeded second, trailed by China, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India and Malaysia.

On Tuesday, the Indonesia boys team will play South Korea, while the girls team has a day off. On Wednesday, the Indonesia boys team will fight Chinese Taipei.

The girls team will meet Malaysia and India on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Eko said on Monday that he had enough preparation prior to his match in the championships. "I'm ready to fight," he said, adding that he and the other players had attended two weeks of training preparation which was coached by Deddy Prasetyo.

Eko, 15, said that his team aimed at entering the quarterfinals of the event. "I don't want to be showy. We can easily fall if we're arrogant," he said.

He said that Chinese Taipei, comprising Wang Yeu-tzuoo, Shieh Wang-cheng and Wu Yi-cheng, and Australian team of Todd Reid, Raphael Durek and Ryan Henry, would be the tough rivals. (ivy)