Peter, Karangasem get Asiad berths

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.