Pelti vying for two golds at Asian Games
Pelti vying for two golds at Asian Games
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Tennis Association will be counting on the female
squad for any realistic chance of winning gold medals at the
upcoming Asian Games.
"The odds in the female events are good enough, with Angie
(Angelique Widjaja) and Wynne (Prakusya) in our team," women's
team coach Suzanna Anggarkusumah told a discussion organized by
the Jakarta Sports Journalists Association (PWI Jaya) at Menara
Peninsula hotel here on Tuesday.
On the panel of speakers were Pelti officials Martina Wijaya,
Soebronto Laras and trainer Alex Taufik.
Angie, now ranked 75th in the WTA, and number 96 Wynne, are
two of the four-strong Indonesian tennis team preparing for the
Asian Games, scheduled to run in Busan, South Korea, from Sept.
29 through Oct. 14.
The 17-year-old Angie has recently won the national best
athlete of the year award, thanks to her outstanding performance
in a number of international tournaments.
The other squad members for the Busan trip are Wukirasih
Sawondari and Liza Andriani.
"We have worked it out that we can rely on the women's doubles
and team event," Suzanna said, adding that Angie could also
spring surprises in the individual event.
"Strong rivalry will come from China and Korea, but we are
confident that we can beat them," said Suzanna, who looked
delighted for the team to repeat the feat she and teammates
achieved back in 1986, also in Korea.
Teaming up with former star Yayuk Basuki, Suzanna earned
Indonesia its first ever gold medal in the tennis competition at
the quadrennial multi-event sporting showcase among the Asian
nations. She continued four years later at Beijing.
Unlike in the female division, the men's players will go to
Busan with the odds stacked against them.
"Gold will be hard to achieve, but I'm not completely ruling
out a chance of winning one," coach Tintus Ariwibowo said.
"Suwandi has managed many times to reach the semifinals and
finals at the Challenger-class tournaments, which see Asia's top
players," he said about Indonesia's number one player.
He will be accompanied by Peter Handoyo, with Febi Widhiyanto
and Hendri Susilo Pramono being the probable other two members.
Pelti, according to Martina, would be pushing for Febi and
Hendri to go with the team, although it was the National Sports
Council (KONI) that would decide eligibility based on medal
prospects.