Paddler Anton gets Olympics berth

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian men's singles table tennis player Anton Suseno qualified for the Olympic Games in Sydney in September after finishing 15th on Friday in the Asian Championships, which also served as Olympic qualifiers.

Anton, who finished second in the championship's group C behind Chinese player Wang Licin, is the only Southeast Asian player to qualify for the Olympics.

Thailand sent two players, Phakpoong and Phuchong, but neither of them reached the event's last 16. Singapore and Malaysia skipped the championships.

This year's Olympics will be the third time Anton has participated in the quadrennial event, having previously competed in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Unfortunately, Indonesian women's singles Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti failed for the third to earn an Olympic berth. She managed to finish third in the group after Chinese and Hong Kong players.

Coach Diana Wuisan said, as quoted by Media Indonesia daily, that Indonesian women's singles players Rossy, Putri Hasibuan and Fauziah Yulianti had great chances of qualifying but were luckless in the group's draw.

Diana hoped Indonesia would qualify in the women's doubles although she admitted the chances were slim as national players would face tough challenges from China, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.

"With improper preparations and the unstable economic situation in the country, I can say that we have done our best," said the Indonesian Table Tennis Association (PTMSI) secretary general, Johnny Waworuntu, as quoted by Kompas. (yan)