RI athletes lack discipline, says KONI training head
RI athletes lack discipline, says KONI training head
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's preparation for the 22nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
seems to be stuttering as the national training chief criticized
the athletes for lacking discipline.
"Some of the athletes appeared undisciplined. This can affect
our preparation for the SEA Games," Djoko Pramono, KONI official
in charge of the Indonesian training for the SEA Games in
Vietnam, said.
Djoko told reporters about learning of the athletes'
discouraging conduct following his inspection of the Hotel
Century, the home of some of the training athletes, on Tuesday.
Indonesia will send athletes to Vietnam to compete in 23
sports. It is not known how many athletes are based out of the
Hotel Century, which lies outside the Bung Karno sports compound
in Central Jakarta.
Djoko, who is also a National Sports Council (KONI) chief in
charge of development, said those athletes came from five
disciplines : athletics, boxing, gymnastics, soccer and wushu
(martial arts).
"They are awake late at night, some watching TV. They hang
around outside the hotel for meals instead of sticking to the
hotel menu.
"This bad behavior must stop, otherwise they won't be able to
optimize their preparation. I will consult with the sports
organizations, because this phase of the training is their
responsibility," Djoko said.
"Maybe, I'll ask the sports organizations to not allow their
athletes TV or irons in their rooms. We have to be strict with
the athletes to make our mission successful in Vietnam," he said.
Djoko recalled his success in guiding Indonesia to the top of
the standings at the 1997 games, a feat he attributed to his
strict handling of the athletes during the training phase.
Soewardi, the training director of the boxing workout,
admitted there were some misbehaving among his boxing hopefuls.
"I have dismissed five boxers because of their poor
disciplinary conduct," he said when contacted later on the day.
He failed to elaborate when the cuts took place but said it was
before June 1.
He said three of the five boxers were being groomed for long-
term opportunities, while two others -- Stevie Binalay and
Antonius Joni -- were preparing for the Vietnam games.
It was the second time Binalay has been dismissed from the
training squad. He was also cut from the Indonesian boxing squad
before the 2002 Asian games.
Soewardi said the Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association
(Pertina) was training 19 boxers, 15 of whom are staying in Hotel
Century to prepare for the games.
He pledged to continued strict action against misbehaving
boxers. "That's for sure. Those failing to obey procedure have no
place in the squad," he said.