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)