PON organizers hope for record-breaking year
JAKARTA (JP): The success of the 14th National Games (PON) will be measured by the number of records set, organizers said yesterday.
The chairman of the organizing committee, Surjadi Soedirdja, said at a rally at Senayan stadium yesterday that the Games have long served as a platform to help national athletes raise their performances to international levels.
"The number of national, Southeast Asian, Asian or perhaps world records broken during PON will show how much progress our athletes have made," said Surjadi, who is also the governor of Jakarta.
The Games, to be held here for the seventh straight time, will run from Sept. 9 to Sept. 20. President Soeharto is scheduled to open the Games at Senayan stadium.
A total of 4,915 athletes from the country's 27 provinces will compete in 35 sports for 502 gold, 502 silver and 592 bronze medals.
With the countdown drawing near, Surjadi asked the 1,300 employees working for the committee to help make the Games a success.
Eddy Widodo, secretary-general of the committee, said that 22,658 people have been recruited, 13,408 of whom come from the capital.
Surjadi joined the chorus of those who would like to see the Games moved. "I'd rather see the PON held outside of Jakarta, but I don't have the authority to decide the matter," Surjadi said.
The National Sports Council decides who will host the quadrennial games after consulting with the President.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman earlier announced after a meeting with President Soeharto that the Games will remain in the capital for the next 10 to 15 years.
This year's Games will cost the city administration Rp 11 billion (US$4.7 million), or 31 percent of the total budget set for the Games.
The Games are being held one year earlier than the original schedule due to the general elections and the 19th Southeast Asian Games in 1997.
Meanwhile in Medan, the North Sumatran squad has insisted on bringing light-middleweight boxer Hendrik Simangunsong to the Games, defying the organizing committee.
The committee's official in charge of competition, Mochammad Hindarto, announced earlier that Hendrik would be barred from the Games after suffering two knock-out defeats in the Olympic Games and in an Olympic warm-up tournament in July.
Deputy chairman of the North Sumatra sports governing body, JA Ferdinandus, told Antara yesterday that Hendrik had received a clean bill of health.
An Amateur International Boxing Association ruling says that a boxer should be sidelined for at least three months after suffering two successive KO losses.
North Sumatra will field 211 sportsmen and women during the Games. (amd)