Pertina relieved at Willem's reinstatement in Asiad squad
Pertina relieved at Willem's reinstatement in Asiad squad
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Willem Papilaya's reinstatement in the Indonesian squad for
the Pusan 2002 Asian Games team has brought relief to the
national boxing body, Pertina.
"We are glad that Willem is back as part of the team. KONI
admitted its mistake," Didit Sudijoto, Pertina's deputy
secretary-general, told reporters here on Wednesday.
Willem is one of the seven pugilists Pertina is grooming for
the trip to the South Korean port city, where the Asian sporting
showcase will take place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14.
The other six pugilists are Bara Gomies, Bonyx Saweho, Stevie
Binalay, Benny Tahumisa, Fernando Samosir and Stenly Kalisaran.
While his fellow boxers passed the recent fitness test, Willem
was declared unfit and was eliminated from the squad on Tuesday.
The test was held at Jatiluhur reservoir in Purwakarta, West
Java from Jan. 7 to Jan. 13, in which almost all the 171 athletes
underwent medical screening to assess whether they were in good
enough physical shape for the Asian Games.
Willem was one of the three initially eliminated, as announced
by the National Sports Council (KONI) in a media conference on
Tuesday, the other two being Tiur Simarmata (rowing) and Andre
Sudrajat (cycling).
However, it was just a matter of a few hours before the fate
of 26-year-old Willem turned to his favor, with KONI citing an
error in its data.
The mistake could have cost Imron Z.S., a KONI official, his
position as training director. Only a wise word from his senior
Rudolf Warouw, KONI's secretary-general and Asian Games project
manager, "blocked" his move.
"I have met Pak Warouw and told him about my mistake in
telling reporters there were three athletes eliminated. In fact
one succeeded," Imron said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Imron refused to comment about the matter, when contacted by
The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Didiet said that Pertina hailed the abrupt turn in
Willem's decision, saying that it was down to KONI's authority to
seal the issue.
"I didn't know about it. I learned about KONI's computer error
from the newspaper. I can just say that I'm relieved at the
correct finding," he said.
Willem, who won a silver medal at the 1998 Asian Games in
Bangkok and a bronze at the Kuala Lumpur 2001 Southeast Asian
(SEA) Games last September, will play in the 63.5 kilogram
category.
KONI has yet to set a definite target for the Asian Games but
emphasizes it should be no fewer than the six gold medals won in
Bangkok.