Peter, Karangasem get Asiad berths
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Sports Council (KONI) has included two new names on the list of athletes for the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, in October.
The two are marathon runner I Gusti Gede Karangasem and tennis player Peter Handoyo.
"We had a meeting on Saturday and decided to include those two names," Imron ZS, the training director, told reporters here on Monday, citing their medal prospects in Busan.
The Asian multi-event meet will run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14.
Peter's inclusion marks his return to the list in less than three weeks. In addition to four women, he had previously been among the four male players the national tennis governing body, Pelti, had proposed.
But, U.S.-based Peter, along with doubles' specialists Febi Widhiyanto and Hendri Susilo, were among the 19 athletes KONI removed from the list earlier this month.
However, Pelti's lobbying over Febi and Hendri appeared to have fallen through with Imron reasoning the pairing would have few prospects of winning a medal.
The Indonesian tennis squad comprises Angelique Widjaja, Wynne Prakusya, Wukirasih Sawondari and Liza Andriyani.
Meanwhile, Karangasem's late pick to the list has brought the number of hopefuls in the training camp now to three, the previous two being hammer-thrower Yurita Ariyani and pole-vaulter Ni Putu Desi Margawati.
Karangasem's greatest achievement, according to Tigor Tanjung, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Amateur Athletic Association (PASI), was at the Asian Championship in Hong Kong in February, where he chalked two hours and 25 minutes.
"We will be working on a scheme for Karangasem to run under two hours and 20 minutes. Then he will have a chance of contending the bronze," Tigor told The Jakarta Post.
Tigor said he had not received a letter of endorsement from KONI yet over Karangasem and would discuss the issue with training manager Rudolf S. Warouw on Tuesday.
With the inclusion of Peter and Karangasem, the entire squad for the Asian Games will now number 106 athletes who will compete in 20 sports.
Until Sept. 26, when a fixed list of the delegation is supposed to be officially announced, further removals and recruits, according to Imron, are still possible, especially for beach volleyball, boxing, badminton, tae kwon do and judo.
The five have yet to complete their final tryouts.