PBI to recruit 12 bowlers for SEAG
PBI to recruit 12 bowlers for SEAG
JAKARTA (JP): Thirty two bowlers are being groomed by the
Indonesian Bowling Association (PBI) in preparation for the Kuala
Lumpur Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in September.
PBI official in charge of competitions, David Sitorus, told
reporters after the First Indonesian Bowling Award 2000 media
conference on Friday that the number would be compressed to only
six male and six female athletes for the core teams.
"The 32 bowlers consist of 18 top priority athletes, six
juniors and eight top ranking players in the country. They passed
the first phase of selection and joined the centralized training
program in February. Currently they are training at the Galeria
Kosmic Kodel Bowling in Mega Mall Pluit and the Ancol Bowling
Center, both in North Jakarta. These locations are providing us
with free-of-charge facilities," he said.
"They will have to undergo four or five national tournaments
in order to join the Games squad. They completed the Champions of
the Year tournament last month and are gearing up for others such
as the Jakarta Bowling Fans tournament from April 14 to April 22,
FQ Bowling Club Anniversary Open in late May, Jakarta Anniversary
in late June and the Millennium Cup in mid-July. The latest
tournament is still tentative."
"They must also compete in 12 local tournaments including the
Bali Intercontinental tournament and PBI monthly championships."
David said the national squad would warm up at the Genting
Highlands Open Championships in Malaysia in July.
PBI is targeting two golds from a total of 12 gold medals at
stake at the Sept. 8 to Sept. 17 biennial event.
"We are hoping to win two golds from our four opportunities in
either the men's or women's team of five, or the men's trio and
men's individual.
"We will face tough challenges from host Malaysia and
Singapore. As neighboring countries, they have the advantage of
swapping players as practice partners. Another tough contender
will be the Philippines but it only performs strongly at
individual events.
Meanwhile, the award ceremony organizers comprising of PBI
officials and a team of three journalists announced the names of
athletes, coaches, clubs and bowling centers for the event.
The organizers chairperson Lala Hozilah said the awards would
be handed over to winners from eight categories -- best men's and
women's individual categories, best trios, best coach, best club,
most promising athlete, most popular bowler and best bowling
center.
The ceremony will take place on March 30 at the Atlet Century
Park Hotel in Senayan, Central Jakarta, at 7 p.m.
PBI official in charge of research and development, Taufik
Rahman, said that the nominees were selected based on their
performance in international and national events during the year
2000. (yan)