New wushu rule benefits RI in 2002 Asiad

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Wushu Association (WI) looks set to take advantage of the adoption of a new game rule at the Asian Games to be held in Pusan, South Korea, next September.

The new rule will require a competitor in the taolu division to carry out a skills demonstration, which incorporates two or three disciplines.

"We will take advantage of the new rule because our players have been used to playing three disciplines," WI chairman Mediteransyah told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The new rule has been adopted as the competition will provide less medals than it did before. The Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, which concluded recently, offered 20 golds while the Pusan Games will provide 11.

"Because there is a reduction in the number of gold medals while maintaining all disciplines in the competition, two or three disciplines will be combined for a gold quest," Mediteransyah said.

The mandatory three-discipline demonstration comprises changquan, qianshu and jianshu, while the two-discipline demonstration sees taijiquan and taijijian, all in the women's category.

In the men's category, the three-discipline demonstration will be either the combined changquan, daoshu, gunshu, or nanquan, nandao, nangun, while the two-discipline demonstration comprises taijiquan and taijijian.

The association has short-listed 15 players for the Pusan trip.

The taolu players comprise Sherlie Hudiono, Susyana, Nurdiana, Dwi Arimbi (female), Seno Prakoso, Sandry Liong, Howandy Santoso, Suhendri and Gogi Nebulana.

The sanshou players, all male, include Arif Harsoyo, Christian John, Teguh Prastowo, Alexander, Bennie Santoso and Alfrits Maweru.

They will be under the supervision of six coaches, two of whom -- Phoon Chee Kong and Ye Song Xian -- are from Malaysia and China respectively.

The list of players, the copies of which were made available to the media, names Susyana and Nurdiana as gold medal hopefuls.

While Nurdiana had to be content with a silver, 17-year-old Susyana from Jakarta contributed to one of the two gold medals Indonesia won at the recent Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.

The other gold was courtesy of Sherlie. However, the association will settle for a silver from the 20-year-old athlete, given the expected stiff challenge, particularly from China and Hong Kong.

Under the new rule, Sherlie, who performed jianshu in Kuala Lumpur, must now include changquan and qianshu in her preparation for the Asian Games.

The team will start training at a training camp in Medan for taolu specialists and in Jakarta for sanshou players.