Judoist Krisna Bayu gets olympic berth

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia added a men's judoist to its Olympic team at the last minute yesterday after Krisna Bayu was awarded a wild card place from the International Judo Federation.

Chairman of the National Sports Council Wismoyo Arismunandar told reporters that the wild card was given to 86-kilogram specialist Bayu without "an official process."

"It's an honor for Bayu to take part in the Olympics. But he has to be responsible for his inclusion in the team by performing as commendably as he can," he said.

Indonesia will now have 40 athletes competing in 11 sports during the Games in Atlanta, due to open this Friday.

Indonesia won no Olympic berths in the final qualifying round in South Korea last November after failing to send any athletes to the competition.

In January, Bayu was listed among the Asian judoists who qualified for the Olympics based on their tournament records in 1995.

The Asian Judo Association decided the quota for each Asian country after several tournaments which serve as Olympic qualifying rounds.

Bayu shined in the 18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last December, by winning two gold medals in the 86kg and open classes.

Wismoyo said that although 22-year-old Bayu is the only athlete who will have missed the national training program for the Olympics, he will be ready for the Games.

"We have anticipated the chance of him getting the wild card. He has been training for months," Wismoyo said.

Middleweight Bayu has been undergoing intensive training sessions. He leaves for Atlanta tomorrow.

He will be accompanied by South Korean coach Lee Byung-uk.

Bayu will be included in the last batch of the Indonesian Olympic contingent, which also comprises the badminton team and two women's tennis players. (yan)