ISSI to decide between Uyun and Santia for Olympics
ISSI to decide between Uyun and Santia for Olympics
Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta
Indonesia was assured another slot in the 2004 Olympic Games
when the Indonesian Cycling Association (ISSI) received
confirmation of the wildcard from its regional counterpart.
ISSI secretary-general Sofian Ruzian said Asian Cycling
Confederation (ACC) president Dato' Seri Darshan Singh had
notified him that one more ticket was available in the point race
division for the Olympics.
"The (Games organizing) committee has decided that Indonesian
cycling deserves the extra slot," Sofian told The Jakarta Post on
Wednesday.
The association has yet to decide on whom to send: Uyun
Muzizah or Santia Tri Kusuma, both top women cyclists. ISSI is to
announce its selection on Thursday.
Sofian said the decision was up to the coaches, who were
deemed to be more knowledgeable of their athletes.
He added, however, that Santia might have a better chance,
given that she had long held the leading position in the sport.
Santia and Uyun both competed in Melbourne last May in the
World Cup Championships, one of the qualifying competitions for
the Olympics.
Santia competed in the 24-kilometer point race while Uyun
raced in the 3,000 meter individual pursuit, but neither
qualified for the Olympics.
Given their performance, Sofian said ISSI would not set a
medal target for their Olympic bid.
"Other countries such as Russia, New Zealand, Australia and
Italy have great racers. It would be a hard challenge for them in
Athens," he said.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Archery Association (Perpani) has
selected Lockonecko to accompany Rina Dewi Puspitasari to Athens.
Perpani secretary-general Djati Walujo told the Post on
Wednesday the decision was based mainly on the results at last
week's German grand prix.
Kuswantoro, who was also a candidate for the Games, exited in
the opening round while Lockonecko did slightly better, reaching
the second round.
Rina also crashed out in the first round, but she was given a
place on the team.
"Aside from the grand prix result, the coaches held their own
assessment based on various criteria to decide whether it was
Locko or Kus going to Athens," Djati said.
He also confirmed that Indonesia would not have any chance of
sending an extra archer to Athens, as the International Archery
Federation had announced that all participating countries had
decided to proceed with the qualifying slots.
"The Federation told us on Monday that no teams had
relinquished their places," he said.