Lody, Dewi expected to get gold once again

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

As was the case two years ago in Vietnam, aerobics gymnast Lody and artistic gymnast Dewi Prahara are considered most likely to win gold in the upcoming 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Indonesian Gymnastics Association (Persani) secretary-general Asep Sulaeman said recently the pair -- the country's only top podium finishers in gymnastics at the 22nd Games -- were expected to repeat in the Philippines.

"Lody is training hard to compete in the SEA Games this year, while Dewi is now training in Rumania to improve her chance to win gold."

He also hoped 2003 SEA Games silver medalists Fahmi (aerobic) and Muhammad Adila Akbar (artistic) would be able to improve from their silvers of two years ago to land gold this time around in the Philippines.

Asep acknowledged that the country's chances in the sport were limited, because several neighboring countries had established strong gymnastics development programs.

"Thailand, Vietnam and probably the host will dominate the 24- division gymnastics competition in the SEA Games ..."

He included the host country among the top contenders because Vietnam triumphed in the sport two years ago even though it was not considered favorite.

Apart from the two golds and silvers, Indonesia took four bronze in 2003.

With gymnastics offering a considerable number of medals, Persani and the National Sports Council (KONI) realized the need for better development of gymnasts.

Dewi was among a group of seven artistic gymnasts sent to train in Rumania three months ago. Three others are training in Russia, with the rest based in Jakarta.

A total of 24 gymnasts are in training for the Games, consisting of 11 men -- six in artistic and five in aerobic -- and 13 women -- six in artistic, four in rhythmic and three in aerobic.

Asep said the gymnasts appeared to be doing well in Rumania, although there were no recent events to compare their form to their peers in the region.

Unfortunately, the athletes experienced late delivery of their allowances during training.

"The athletes training in Rumania are very young and for some of them it's their first overseas experiences. If the allowances are late, they are very miserable because it seems there is no concern from KONI," he said.