Minister Mahadi to speak with archer Yana about rejoining team
Minister Mahadi to speak with archer Yana about rejoining team
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
Mahadi Sinambela, promised Monday to speak directly to women's
archer Nurfitriyana Saiman Lantang and ask her to rejoin the
national team in order to compete in the Olympic Games in Sydney
in September.
"For the sake of the country, I will speak to Nurfitriyana in
person and ask her to change her mind about retiring."
Mahadi was responding to requests made by the Indonesian
Archery Association (Perpani) chairman Hayono Isman at his
office. Hayono said if Nurfitriyana, nicknamed Yana, joins the
team, Indonesia has a chance to bring home a medal.
"Without Yana, our hopes are slim. Perpani doesn't give them
much of a chance of winning. It's a great problem for us because
the grooming process for the next generation hasn't been started
yet," said Hayono, former state minister of youth affairs and
sports.
"Yana is sill a good archer. She's at the top of her form. She
can also motivate her teammates."
Yana, who has competed in three Olympics beginning in 1988,
announced in February that she was going to resign from the sport
after the 15th National Games (PON) in Surabaya in June, and
subsequently pass over participating in the Olympics.
Perpani is currently whipping into shape Hamdiah, Lusia
Elizabeth Sumampouw, Purnama Pandiangan and Ajeng Wulan.
The international archery federation (FITA) will announce on
June 26 which countries will take part in the women's team
archery event at the Olympics.
The four archers will compete in the Nation's Cup in Weizheim,
Germany, from May 19 to May 26.
"We hope the archers will improve technically and boost their
fighting spirit during the event. Hopefully, they can also
observe skilled archers from the other participating nations
because this is the last event before the Olympics," said Hayono.
Hayono complained about the difficulty of grooming young
talent in the sport, because archery is a "non-spectator sport."
Mahadi suggested that Perpani work jointly with high schools
to popularize archery in the country.
"We can start with the more elite schools on Java island.
There are already several archery schools, like the one in
Klaten, Central Java." (yan)