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)