KONI to focus on long-term development programs
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.