PASI to start training 50 athletes for 2001 SEA Games

PASI to start training 50 athletes for 2001 SEA Games

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Amateur Athletic Association
(PASI) will start grooming 50 athletes in September for the 2001
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur.

PASI Secretary General Tigor M. Tanjung said the association
was hoping to assemble more athletes to join the training program
in two national Grand Prix series which would be held sometime
before the fasting month and after Idul Fitri in December.

"We garnered 50 athletes during the 2000 National Games (PON)
in June. We are expecting more during the Grand Prix. The 50
athletes will also be tested during the event and those who fail
to maintain their personal best will be eliminated," he said on
Friday.

Tigor said athletes should continue training during the
fasting month.

"They will be evaluated during the Grand Prix so they should
continue training. If their physical fitness drops, it is very
expensive to return it to the previous level," he said.

PASI will likely use its own money to finance the training as
the National Sports Council (KONI) training budget was short.

"We have proposed to KONI to groom 150 athletes for the SEA
Games. But KONI said the budget was limited and told us to help
fund the training. PASI cannot afford to groom 150 athletes, so
we reduced the number to 50."

"We hope that KONI will disburse the money as soon as
possible," he said.

The government has allocated Rp 2 billion (US$250,000) to help
KONI stage its four-month preliminary training program starting
in September. The fund will be disbursed to some 27 sports
organizations, whose sports have been ensured a place at the
biennial event.

The long-term training program is KONI's ambitious program to
reclaim the overall champion title and improve Indonesia's
position in the medal tally, after falling to third place behind
Thailand and Malaysia last year.

Indonesia considers its achievement in the 1997 SEA Games here
as successful. The athletes trained for one year and made
Indonesia the overall champion.

In 1999, Indonesia only managed five golds in the track and
field alone, from the targeted six golds. Besides the gold,
Indonesia also managed 11 silver and three bronze.

In a sports committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur in early August,
Malaysia approved 44 track and field events. The country is
expected to give confirmation in one month on the events to be
staged. (ivy)