Kadir content to participate from the stands

Kadir content to participate from the stands

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Former national karate star Abdul Kadir seems to be relishing his
new role as a trainer of Indonesia's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
hopefuls, expressing keenness to pass on his knowledge and skill.

"I'm proud to have been part of the team that carried the
Indonesian flag in international tournaments. I now accept the
training challenge, which gives me a chance of basking in the
victories in a different light," Kadir told The Jakarta Post at
the office of the Indonesian Karate Federation (Forki) here on
Wednesday.

"I will tackle this task seriously and try to make the best of
it," said the 36 year old, who retired from competition in 2000
after being a regular on the national team since 1991.

During his athletic career, Kadir managed to reach the finals
at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, but lost in the
final match.

His last win was at the 1999 SEA Games in Brunei Darussalam
where he collected his second gold at the regional multi-event
sporting meet. His first was in Manila in 1993.

"There is a difference between playing and training. A good
athlete does not automatically make a good coach. Coaching
technics are something we should obtain from outside the court,"
he said.

Kadir is one of the seven coaches recently assigned by Forki
to prepare the athletes for the next SEA Games, which will be
held in Vietnam in December.

As many as 40 karatekas in 19 classes are on the trainee list.
They were finalists at the national championship a couple of
weeks ago in Kutai, East Kalimantan, which is also the training
venue beginning on Thursday.

Asked about the athletes' strengths compared with their
regional rivals, Kadir said he was unable to assess them as yet.

"They must have flaws that need to be worked on over the next
six months, but I can't say just now because we have not had any
contact with the athletes yet," he said.

The athletes will have to undergo another two selection fields
between June and July to make the team.