KONI needs new karate team lineup

KONI needs new karate team lineup

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesia Karate-Do Federation (Forki) will
hold a two-day competition to select athletes for the 20th
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games squad in Brunei Darussalam next
month.

Head coach Rustam Umbas said on Thursday the selection would
be held on July 24 and July 26 to pick the core squad of 21 of 35
karatekas. Forki has been grooming 20 male karatekas for 10
divisions and 15 female karatekas for seven divisions to compete
in the Games in Brunei Darussalam from Aug. 7 to Aug. 15.

The SEA Games organizers in Bandar Seri Begawan introduced a
new rule allowing each participating country to field only one
athlete per weight category in certain sports.

Separately, the National Sports Council (KONI) official in
charge of athlete development, Mochammad Hindarto, said the
organizers would not change the rule.

"They said they would stick to the rule," said Hindarto, who
has just returned from Bandar Seri Begawan to attend the chef de
mission technical meeting.

He said he hoped Forki could submit its new team lineup as
soon as possible but he did not set a deadline.

Rustam said if there were two athletes who tied in the
selection, Forki would review each karateka's achievements and
ranking this year before choosing one.

He also said that Forki would call experienced referees, who
often worked in the regional competitions, to judge the
selection.

"By having experienced referees, we hope they can prevent our
karatekas fighting so hard that they could injure themselves
during the selection. The Asian-level referees should know when
he should suspend and stop the game."

Men's and women's kata team members and men's individual kata
karateka Abdullah Kadir will not be replaced. But Omita Olga
Ompi, the 1998 Asian Games silver medalist, has to fight with
junior Endah Jubaedah for a berth in the women's individual kata.

Hindarto said that the international swimming federation
(FINA) has given its approval for the SEA Games to serve as the
pre-qualifying round for the 2000 Olympics.

"It was the secretary-general of Malaysia's National Olympics
Committee, Sieh Kok Chi, who informed me. I have told the
Indonesian Swimming Association (PRSI) about this matter but I
have not received any response," he said.(ivy)