RI bodybuilder can't guarantee gold but will try

RI bodybuilder can't guarantee gold but will try

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's leading bodybuilder Ade Rai has warned against
unrealistic expectations ahead of his planned participation in
the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

"I can't promise to win a gold. What I can assure the
Indonesian people of is that I will do my best," Ade told The
Jakarta Post by phone on Thursday.

"Don't expect too much from me," he said. "Bodybuilding is a
sport where subjectivity can weigh on the decision. I'm not
making any excuses."

Ade is now almost certain to take part in the Asian Games,
scheduled for next September, after the Asian Bodybuilding
Federation (ABBF), at its congress in Myanmar last November, cut
short the three-year ban that has been imposed on him since
August 2000.

The Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding
Federation (PABBSI) is seeking approval from the National Sports
Council (KONI) for eight bodybuilders to take part in the Busan
trip in addition to the 12 lifters already endorsed.

PABBSI's executive director Gandrung said that the eight would
be chosen on the basis of a national selection event scheduled
for Feb. 8 next year.

PABBSI's plan to call up Ade signals a truce between the
bodybuilder and the Federation.

ABBF suspended Ade, whose international achievements have
brought recognition for both PABBSI and Indonesia, after he
breached federation policy by taking part in a musclemania
competition in the United States in 2000.

Throughout the period of his suspension, animosity between Ade
and the national federation has been palpable, and frequently
marked by verbal jousting in the media. Ade also organized a
number of tournaments that PABBSI refused to sanction.

Ade lamented the fact that PABBSI had seemed unwilling to
fight to prevent his suspension. Instead, it punished him by not
recognizing his tournaments.

"Now that they need me they are asking me to compete in
Busan," Ade said.

Despite his frayed relationship with the federation, which he
encapsulates in his assessment that "PABBSI needs better human
resources", Ade decided to take up the Korean challenge.

Ade, who accused certain PABBSI officials of having "tampered"
with him, said: "I'm not competing for PABBSI's interests, but
for the sake of Indonesia."

He signaled the Korean mission would probably be his first and
last appearance at an Asian Games given that bodybuilding events
had been a very rare occurrence at previous Games.