KONI to focus on long-term development programs

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Learning from its failures over the last two seasons, the National Sports Council (KONI) has come up with a plan that focuses more on long-term sporting achievement rather than the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

"We will not let ourselves become preoccupied with the target of becoming number one (in Southeast Asia). The recent congress has recommended that the next SEA Games be taken as part of long- term sports development up to the following Asian Games and Olympics," Djoko Pramono, KONI's director of athletic development, told reporters here on Tuesday.

The SEA Games will be hosted by Vietnam in Hanoi in December.

At the previous two games, Brunei Darussalam 1999 and Kuala Lumpur 2001, Indonesia, which had dominated the event since 1977, finished an unprecedentedly poor third behind Thailand and Malaysia.

"We will not be talking about targets. What matters most will be how we can win as many medals as possible," Djoko explained.

He said the scheme would entail concentrating more on up-and- coming young athletes with potential and less on athletes who had perhaps passed their primes.

"So, even if an athlete has the prospect of winning a gold in Vietnam but will become uncompetitive shortly afterwards because of age, he should not be included in the squad.

"They may triumph in the SEA Games, but when it comes to a higher level of competition, such as the Asian Games or Olympics, they will quickly wilt. So let's start to think about long-term gain," he said.

According to Djoko, KONI plans to compete in 26 out of 32 sports. A tentative training center plan has been drawn up, with training to be divided into two phases.

During the first phase, the athletes will participate in a two-month workout organized by their respective sports organizations while the second four-month phase will be fully administered by KONI.

"KONI will provide some of the financial support needed during the first phase. The second phase will be fully the responsibility of KONI," Djoko said.

Less than two weeks after taking up his post, Djoko, who guided the Indonesian contingent at the Jakarta SEA Games in 1997, has begun to step up the pace ahead of the games.

He said he had discussed the training plan with sports officials in charge of swimming, karate, wushu, boxing and wrestling on Monday.

"As a new guy at the helm, we have to identify what we have for the games before drawing up another plan. We have to identify our strengths as early as possible," he said, while adding that he was racing against time as the SEA Games were only seven months away.