Thu, 27 Sep 2001

'Indonesia's SEA Games poor showing not a failure'

JAKARTA (JP): An evaluation of Indonesia's performance at the recently concluded SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur was conducted on Wednesday, with former chief-de-mission Putera Astaman disputing calls that the showing was "a failure".

Collecting 71 gold medals, Indonesia ended up in third place in Kuala Lumpur, the second time the country has rounded off its biennial sports meet performance in a mediocre position since Brunei Darussalam in 1999.

Malaysia finished first with 111 gold medals followed by Thailand with 104 gold medals.

Although the goals among the officials of the National Sports Council (KONI) were high prior to departure, they did not disclose to the public how many golds they expected to win.

This "restraint" proved to go down well when they were required to account for their duties.

When asked for his stance on whether or not Indonesia's SEA Games campaign had failed, Putera said: "The evaluation can be seen from many different aspects.

"That's why did we fancy making targets beforehand. We pushed ourselves to win as many medals as possible," Putera said at KONI headquarters here on Wednesday.

It was unclear about his assessment over the contingent's showing when he was asked in his capacity as a former leader.

Instead he said:"Talking about disappointment, dissatisfaction, I'm absolutely the first man to be disappointed and dissatisfied with the results. Not you," he said in a raised voice.

Putera also rejected ideas that the Kuala Lumpur performance signified a decline in Indonesian sports development in general.

"It depends on how you look at it. From Brunei, it's not. If it is considered like that, Indonesia is not the lone participant undergoing a decline in the collection of gold medals," he said.

"Thailand came in second after finishing on top in Brunei. Singapore also underwent relegation. So was Brunei," he added.

Putera Astaman put Indonesia's inability to match Malaysia and Thailand down to a lack of focus on three main sports, which traditionally offer abundant golds. Those three sports are athletics, shooting and aquatic events.

Indonesia grabbed eight gold medals from the three events compared to Thailand's 47 and Malaysia's 22. There were 125 gold medals on offer in the three sports.

Apart from the main three, attention will also be given to other sports with good medal prospects for sports development in the next stage.

"The sports falling into this category include rowing, cycling, karate and judo," he said.

KONI also sees the need to look for a continuation of funds to ease Indonesia's financial problems in funding sports development, especially when it comes to preparing a contingent for a multievent showcase, such as the SEA Games and Asian Games.

The idea was echoed by Taufik Kiemas, the husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, when he paid a brief visit to the Indonesian contingent in Kuala Lumpur.

"I expect the government will provide KONI with ongoing funds as soon as possible so we will not have any more financial problems in preparing our national team," said Putera.

He did not explain, however, what other financial sources would feed the fund saying: "It is not my duty to seek funds."

On the Pusan 2002 Asian Games to be held in Pusan, South Korea, KONI will adopt a one-on-one policy, in which only athletes having the best prospects of winning medals will proceed.

KONI has submitted a proposal of Rp 27.8 billion (US$2.9 million) to the government for Asiad preparation.

"KONI will concentrate on sports that have a real chance on grabbing gold medals. We got six gold medals in the Bangkok 1998 Asiad. Winning 10 gold medals would boost our standing," said Putera.

"Attention will be more intensive with a lot of tryouts to improve our athletes' skills," he added. (01/nvn)