RI granted a place in World Cup boxing

RI granted a place in World Cup boxing

JAKARTA (JP): Thailand has granted a World Cup team slot to
one of the two Indonesian boxers who won bronze medals in the
King's Cup earlier this week. The World Cup will be held in
Beijing in June.

Deputy secretary-general of the Indonesian Amateur Boxing
Association (Pertina), Didit Soedijoto, praised Thailand's
decision yesterday. He said that the Asia's boxing powerhouse
"was not greedy enough to want to send all its best boxers to
Beijing."

The Thai team earned 10 places in a World Cup team through an
outstanding performance in the King's Cup, held recently in
Bangkok. The team delighted home fans by winning 10 out of the 12
gold medals on offer at the tournament.

The World Cup, which runs from June 13 to June 21, will
feature boxers from all five continents. Asia will field three
teams -- China the hosts, a team of boxers from the former Soviet
republics, and a team made up of gold medalists from the King's
Cup.

The other four continents will each field two teams.

A panel of selectors set up by the King's Cup organizers will
choose between pinweight Damianus Jordan and welterweight Bara
Gommies to represent Indonesia in the World Cup.

"I don't know how they will choose between Bara and Damianus.
but both will be sent to a training center for the Asian team in
Thailand," Didit said.

Both Damianus and Bara were outpointed by Thai opponents in
their respective semifinal bouts in the King's Cup on Monday.

Didit said that although the four man Indonesian team managed
only two bronze medals, it finished fifth out of 22 participating
countries. The tournament organizers used points accumulated to
decide the hierarchy, not the number of medals.

"It was a good achievement because we only had three weeks to
prepare for the cup," he said.

Damianus and Bara are currently being groomed for the Asian
Games to be held in Bangkok in December. They are in training
with eight other boxers in Sentul, West Java. (emf)