PABBSI barred from PON participation
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta
The National Sports Council (KONI) said here on Thursday it would allow bodybuilders from the troubled Indonesian Weight Lifting, Power Lifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) to participate in the 2004 National Games (PON).
But it added that the bodybuilding competition at PON would not involve PABBSI as an institution after its membership was revoked by the Asian Bodybuilding Federation (ABBF) and the International Bodybuilding Federation (IBBF) last year.
"We will take over the competition and appoint individuals from both PABBSI and the (newly established) Indonesian Bodybuilding Federation to the organizing committee," Djoko Pramono, KONI's chief of development affairs, said.
PABBSI's membership in the two federations was revoked in September after it came out that the association supported Musclemania, an international bodybuilding event the ABBF and IBBF do not endorse.
The two international bodies have sanctioned the establishment of the Indonesian Bodybuilding Federation (FBI), whose first international event was the Asian Bodybuilding Championships in Bali in June.
However, KONI has yet to give its recognition to the new federation.
Djoko's statement on Thursday came in the wake of recent concerns that Indonesian bodybuilders would be barred from multievent international sporting competitions like the SEA Games, the Asian Games and the Olympics because of PABBSI's troubles.
Djoko said the exclusion of PABBSI from PON was expected to prevent this from occurring.
"I think this is the best solution to help the athletes and save the organization, our time and energy," he said.
Djoko plans to summon PABBSI officials at the end of this month to talk over the issue.
KONI's decision was hailed by FBI secretary-general Steve Tengko, who said it would benefit the athletes.
"The most important thing is that we have to prioritize the athletes, so we support KONI's policy," he said.
The 2004 PON will be held in Palembang, South Sumatra, from Sept. 2 to Sept. 14.