KONI asked for all-out preparations for SEA Games
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman ordered the National Sports Governing Body (KONI) yesterday to go all out in preparations for next year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Bangkok.
"It is important for KONI to maximize its preparations from now on, otherwise we will be left in second place by another country," Hayono said while opening the national congress of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) in Denpasar, Bali, yesterday.
The one-day congress was aimed at evaluating PBSI's programs for this year and preparing more programs for next year.
Apart from badminton, the only sport in which Indonesia currently reigns supreme, Indonesia's performance in other sports has not been as good as that of other Southeast Asian countries, Hayono said.
He added that he has not yet received any reports on how the other sports sectors are preparing themselves for the games.
Malaysia and Thailand have had their athletes intensively groomed in China as part of their preparations for next year's SEA Games, Hayono said.
In the meantime, Indonesia has been preoccupied with matters other than preparing itself for the games.
Thailand was the only country to spoil Indonesia's supremacy in the SEA Games when it won the overall title in 1985 in Bangkok.
Seeding
Meanwhile, Soerjadi, PBSI's chairman, stressed the importance that every party should share the same perception about how the term "seeded" should be applied in badminton.
Soerjadi was commenting on the surprising withdrawal of defending champion Pelita Jaya from the ongoing national championships due to its disappointment at being seeded fourth on Tuesday.
"Let us view this problem rationally and wisely," Soerjadi said.
Pelita Jaya's manager, former men's singles great Icuk Sugiarto, announced his club's withdrawal shortly after the opening ceremony of the annual event. Icuk insisted that, as defending champion, Pelita Jaya deserved to be seeded first.
PBSI, in a letter signed by the championships' referees, Sudajat and Julius Tetelepta, said its decision to seed Pelita Jaya fourth was made during a meeting on technical matters, which Icuk failed to attend.
The organizing committee further explained that the seeding of the clubs was determined based on the present performance of each participating team, not on the results of the latest national championships two years ago.
Icuk has rejected that explanation. He said he was barred from attending the technical meeting because he did not hold any position in the provincial administration sporting body.
On Tuesday, Icuk also announced his withdrawal from his position as PBSI chairman in charge of scouting talent, and proposed that his club be dissolved.
The badminton event staged at the Yuwana Mandala sports hall in Denpasar will last until Dec. 3. (arf)