Paddler Anton gets Olympics berth

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)