KONI to call 39 athletes for Olympics training
JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) official in charge of athletes development, Mochammad Hindarto, announced on Tuesday that 39 athletes would participate in training for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
The 39 athletes include Supriati Sutono, Irene Truitje Yoseph and Johannes Murray (track and field), Juana Wangsa Putri (taekwondo), Oka Sulaksana (windsurfing), Hamdiah (archery) and Richard Sam Bera, Albert and Felix Sutanto and Wisnu Wardhana (swimming).
Other sports -- boxing, rowing and weightlifting -- are still waiting for results of the prequalifying rounds for the Olympics.
Some Indonesian shuttlers, the country's main hope for golds at the Olympics have qualified for the Games. They are Hendrawan, Budi Santoso and Taufik Hidayat in the men's singles and Candra Wijaya, Tony Gunawan, Ricky Subagja, Rexy Mainaky, Flandy Limpele, Eng Hian, Antonius and Denny Kantono in the men's doubles.
Hindarto said KONI would support decisions made by sports organizations to bar athletes -- who are concentrating on preparing for the Olympics -- to miss next year's National Games (PON).
"KONI will back up sports organizations' decisions if they think that PON will not support athlete preparations during training programs for the Olympics.
"Sports experts have already warned us on the risk of injuries if the athletes force themselves to compete at PON," he said.
KONI's secretary-general Rudolf Warouw said he and deputy Harsuki would attend the chef de mission meetings in Sydney scheduled for the end of this month.
"KONI has yet to decide who is the chef de mission for next year but the meeting will discuss athletes' accommodation and transportation, a sports seminar during the Olympics and other things relating to the Olympic's preparation in general."
Warouw said KONI would call sports organizations to start discussing each organization's programs prior to the Olympics national training.
SEA Games
KONI plans to start its training program for the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur in August 2000.
Hindarto said training would start after athletes compete in next year's PON to be held in Surabaya in June.
"We will start the Olympics training after PON, probably in August, with a consideration that we will have a year of preparation prior to the SEA Games."
Hindarto said 2001 SEA Games organizers would endorse sports to be featured in the biennial event in the SEA Games federation meeting in February.
"We can prepare our athletes to attend the centralized training programs despite their decentralized preparation for PON in their respective areas," he said, adding that between 500 and 600 athletes were expected to attend training.
Indonesia aims to improve its performance in the 2001 SEA Games after its poor showing in the 1999 Games in Brunei Darussalam in August. KONI blamed the athlete's poor performance on the short training period and budget constraints.
Indonesia, the defending champion, finished third by taking home 44 golds, 43 silvers and 58 bronzes. The result was the worst by Indonesia since the country competed in the Games for the first time in 1977.
Arch rival Thailand bagged 64 golds, 48 silvers and 56 bronzes, followed by dark horse Malaysia with 58 golds, 46 silvers and 42 bronzes. (ivy/yan)