Regional athletics meet starts today

JAKARTA (JP): The 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) schools track and field championship due to start here today will test the fitness of five Indonesian athletes for the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta next year.

All ASEAN members except Vietnam -- Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam -- have sent athletes to the championship which features 20 male events and 17 female events.

Indonesia's team manager for the championship, Mohammad Sidik, said yesterday that Indonesia had prepared 20 boys and 16 girls for the championship but added that only five of them were considered eligible for next year's SEA Games.

The five athletes in question are sprinter Irine Yoseph of Maluku, long-distance runners Tri Asih Handayani, Rumini Sudragni and Ferry Junaedi of Central Java, and pole vaulter Nunung Jayadi of Jakarta.

Tri Asih and Rumini already took part in last year's SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Rumini won the women's 1,000m final and created a new SEA Games record by clocking 35 minutes 21 seconds. Tri Asih finished third in the women's 1,500m final and second in the 3,000m final.

Thailand, the champion of last year's ASEAN schools track and field championship, has sent 35 athletes to this year's competition, officially called the MILO ASEAN School Athletic Championships, to be staged at Senayan Madya stadium.

Of the 35, however, only one, sprinter Nuchanart Nukboon, is eligible for next year's SEA Games, Thailand's team manager and head coach Sombat Roongruang told reporters at the stadium yesterday.

Nukboon was not fielded at last year's SEA Games in Chiang Mai.

Roongruang said he wanted at least 15 gold medals in the championship. Last year Thailand took 19 golds, 9 silvers and 16 bronze medals. Malaysia was second with 9 golds, 10 silvers and 7 bronzes. Indonesia finished third with 7 golds, 14 silvers and 4 bronzes.

Malaysia's team manager Lian Chin Nam said that his team would collect at least as many gold medals as last year, but added that "this year, one more gold medal would be nicer." (arf)