KONI maps out strengths ahead of 2003 SEA Games
KONI maps out strengths ahead of 2003 SEA Games
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Sports Council (KONI) announced an early mapping-out
of its medal chances at the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
with chairman Agum Gumelar saying that the policy reflected the
council's wish to put its cards on the table before heading to
Vietnam.
The SEA Games, the biennial multi-event sporting showcase for
the Southeast Asian nations, will be staged in the Vietnamese
capital of Hanoi in December.
KONI plans to take part in 29 of the 32 sports contested at
the games. This means that Indonesia's athletes will be competing
in events involving 420 of the 435 gold medals on offer.
During his presentation at KONI headquarters here on
Wednesday, Djoko Pramono, who is in charge of supervising the
preparations of Indonesian athletes, revealed his initial
calculation that the current strength of the Indonesian
contingent was roughly equal to around 56 gold medals.
"That's an initial calculation after I consulted the sports
organization bodies. Their calculation of medal prospects should
increase when we meet again one month before our departure to
Vietnam.
"And this is what we have to press ahead with in each of the
sports organizations. If our gold medal hopes remain as they are
today, we will have to ask what's the point of their training
workouts," Djoko said to assembled KONI officials.
"A sports organization that can't promise an increase in its
medal expectation had better dissolve itself," Djoko said only
half-jokingly.
From Djoko's description of medal prospects, it appears that
in the main sports, including athletics, aquatics, shooting and
gymnastics, Indonesia will be unable to challenge tough rivals
such as Thailand and Malaysia.
Those four sports make up the bulk of the medals on offer with
152 golds, but only seven are expected to come Indonesia's way.
In the 2001 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia brought home 12
out of the 156 gold medals offered in these four categories.
Agum brushed aside suggestions that the initial medal count by
the sports organizations was too pessimistic.
"We are not being pessimistic about our prospects at all.
Rather, it's a reflection of our willingness to identify where we
are at the moment," he told reporters after the meeting.
"As we are aware of our position, we can decide what to do
next so as to do our best at the SEA Games," he said.
Although some sports organizations have already begun
training, KONI will announce on Sunday that May 1 is the official
commencement of the training period.
Meanwhile, Indra Kartasasmita, the KONI officer in charge of
planning and budgeting, said that in a bid to increase
Indonesia's medal haul at the SEA Games, KONI would propose the
inclusion of certain events in the list of sports.
The proposal will be forwarded during a council meeting in
Vietnam's business capital of Ho Chi Minh City on Friday.