Indonesia's female archers cancel Olympic warm-up
Indonesia's female archers cancel Olympic warm-up
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian women's archery team, citing lack of preparation, will not take part in next month's warm-up tournament for the Atlanta Olympics.
National coach Daniel Latumesil said yesterday that his squad needs to rest after their poor performances in several tournaments.
Latumesil said that instead of fielding a team to the Olympic tune-up, the Indonesian Archery Association will send representatives to film the tournament and the match format that will be used in the Olympics.
The Olympic warm-up tournament will be held from April 9 to April 14 at the venue designated for the actual Games. The organizers have restricted the trial to those who have qualified for the Olympics, which includes Indonesia.
"The Olympic Games Organizing Committee will give each participating team a week to acclimatize and adjust itself to the venue in Atlanta," Daniel said.
The national trio of Nurfitriyana Lantang, Hamdiah and Dahliana have played in the 18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the national championships in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, and the Asian Championships in Bangkok, since winning a bronze at the World Championships here last August.
Their bronze earned Indonesia a place in the Atlanta Olympic Games next July.
The trio teamed up to grab a gold in the SEA Games, but only after they were dealt an upset defeat in the individual event. They left their last Asian meet empty-handed after losing to Japan in the quarterfinals.
"They will only play in an international tournament next June in Slovenia before going to Atlanta," Daniel said.
Latumesil said that the association has called back Nurfitriyana Lantang, Dahliana, Hamdiah, Purnama Pandiangan, Dwi Purwati and Yazmidar to join the national training program, which officially started on March 1.
Hamdiah and Dahliana are the only ones to have turned up so far.
Latumesil said that Nurfitriyana hasn't received permission to take time off from her job at Bank BPD of Jakarta. She will need time off until August if she goes to Atlanta.
Dwi Purwati is likely to miss the program due to her school commitment, Daniel said. "I think the association will pick Kusumawardhani to replace Dwi," he added.
If Kusumawardhani also can't make it, Daniel said they are considering another veteran like Lilies Handayani for the team. Lilies teamed up with Nurfitriyana and Kusumawardhani to carve out a piece of history in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul by winning a silver, Indonesia's first medal in the world's biggest sporting event.
The team will move its practice location from Senayan to Gandul, South Jakarta, today. "We want to prevent our archers from getting bored," Daniel said. (05)