PASI scraps 7 athletes from SEA Games training

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Athletics Association (PASI) has dropped seven athletes from training for the 2005 Southeast Asia (SEA) Games after they were deemed unlikely to medal in the Philippines.

"The National Sports Council (KONI) has a rigid policy that athletes whose performance would not bring any medals must not be sent to the SEA Games. Therefore, we dropped the seven athletes," PASI head of development affairs Boedi Dharma Sidi said after a meeting with KONI's development affairs division on Wednesday.

The athletes are men's 800 meter runner Edwin Patileamonia; Yahuza in the men's 5,000 and 10,000 meters; men's marathoners Gede Karang Asem and Noce Matita; Zaenuddin Umar in the men's javelin; Christian Tobing in men's walking as well as Derni Banfatin in women's 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

"The performance of the seven athletes is improving, but it's still not enough to get medals because their competitors have shown much better improvement," Boedi said.

Boedi said Derni's best 10,000 meters time was 36.21 minutes, far outside the SEA Games bronze medal benchmark of 34.59.

Zaenuddin improved to a mark of 62.15 meters, but a minimum throw of 64 meters was expected to land a bronze medal, he added.

There are now 26 athletes in training for the November event.

The association is also monitoring medical tests of triple jumper Junaidi and 200 and 400 meter specialist Ahmad Sakeh due to their injuries, as well as the form of 110 meter hurdler Olympian Eddy Zakaria, who has failed to impress since setting a personal best of 14.11 at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"We will closely watch their development. If in these seven weeks they could not practice, they will also be removed from the SEA Games team," he said.

Marathon runner Ferry Subnafeu would also be evaluated based on her results in an upcoming half-marathon race in Canada, he added.

National athletes were originally entered in 22 of the 45 athletics events in Manila, but they will now compete in 18.

"From those events, we might be able to get a maximum of seven golds, and four golds at least," he said.