'Indonesia's Olympic target exaggerated'

'Indonesia's Olympic target exaggerated'

ATLANTA, Georgia (Agencies): National Sports Council chief
Wismoyo Arismunandar said here on Monday that some of the
council's hope resting on its Olympic team proved to be illusive.

Wismoyo specifically pointed out the 5-15, 12-15 defeat of
World Cup winner and World Grand Prix titleholder Joko Suprianto
to Commonwealth champion Rashid Sidek of Malaysia in their men's
singles Olympic badminton quarter-final match on Sunday.

"No one would have anticipated the defeat... but we should not
be dismayed. Let us keep hoping for better outcomes in the
remaining matches," Wismoyo was quoted by Antara as saying here
on Monday.

He was briefing Indonesian reporters in a press conference at
the Association of Indonesian Students in the United States'
pavilion in Atlanta. Indonesia's ambassador for the U.S., Arifin
Siregar, joined the gathering.

Indonesia brought a 40-strong team heavy on badminton players
here in a bid to retain its two gold medals it won in Barcelona
two years ago.

Indonesia decided to take part in 11 sports in the Centennial
Olympics, although there had been a suggestion from President
Soeharto early this year that only potential medal winners
deserved places in the team.

Some of the shocks suffered by Indonesia on Sunday and Monday
were perhaps not as bitter as Joko's collapse but by no means
less discouraging.

Indonesia's Barcelona Olympic champion Alan Budikusuma failed
to join his fiance, second seed Susi Susanti, into the last four
after going down 5-15, 9-15 to All-England champion Poul-Erik
Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark.

Indonesia's hopes in the women's doubles also went up in smoke
after Eliza and Zelin Resiana dropped out 7-15, 3-15 to world
number one pair of Ge Fei and Gu Jun of China.

Two Indonesian mixed doubles teams were ousted as well. Trikus
Heryanto and Minarti Timur lost 4-15, 7-15 to Kim Dong-moon and
Gil Young-ah of South Korea while Flandy Limpele and Riseu
Rosalina fell 2-15, 15-5, 7-15 to Liu Jianjun and Sun Man of
China.

Wismoyo also referred to the failure of Indonesian top female
table tennis player Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti and her male
counterpart Anton Suseno to survive their respective group
matches as "unexpected."

Winless Rossy was bottom-placed in Group F and Anton, who won
only against Gideon Ng of Canada, was third-placed in Group O.
Both failed to qualify for the second round.

Another big upset came in archery. Indonesia's top female
archers Hamdiah, Dahliana and Nurfitriyana Lantang all crashed
out early. Hamdiah fell 151-156 to Severine Bonal of France,
Dahliana was beaten 153-157 by Giovanna Aldegani of Italy and
Nurfitriyana succumbed 144-141 to Barbara Mensing of Germany.

Other dismal, unthinkable results were the early exits of
Indonesian freestyle swimmer Richard Sam Bera, middleweight
judoist Kresna Bayu, featherweight boxer Nemo Bahari, the first-
round exit of tennis queen Yayuk Basuki and the second-round
ejection of Yayuk and her long-time partner Romana Tedjakusuma.

Thus, until Monday, Indonesia's Olympic medal hopes stayed
alive in boxing, badminton, women's team archery and wind-
surfing.

Lightflyweight La Paene Masara became only the third
Indonesian boxer to advance into the Olympic quarterfinals. In
badminton, Susi Susanti and Mia Audina reached the women's
singles semifinals. Hariyanto Arbi is in the men's singles
semifinals and Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky in the men's
doubles final.

Hamdiah, Dahliana and Nurfitriyana have qualified for the
archery's team event, and I Made Oka Sulaksana stays in
contention for one of the wind-surfing medals. (arf)