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.