RI judo team decides to shift camp
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Judo Association (PJSI) has changed its plans ahead of its participation at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.
The athletes will now set out for Germany, instead of South Korea as PJSI had previously considered.
"The athletes say they will be more comfortable training in Germany," Aji Kusmantri, PJSI's deputy secretary general, told reporters here on Friday.
"It appears to contradict our former plans, but we can't force them to go to a place they feel wouldn't suit them. As long as it (the change of plan) benefits the team, we can't reject their wishes," Aji said.
The German outing will last for a month starting the middle of this month and will involve training in Berlin and Bonn.
Judo is one of 20 events Indonesia plans to compete at in the Asian Games, which will run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14.
Coach Eka Setia Siregar said the German training camp aimed at building up the physical shape and improving the speed and power of the athletes.
"Speaking about technical ability and skills, the athletes are already well-equipped. They just need to accelerate their speed and power to compete against the strong opposition in Busan," said Eka, a former national champion.
It will be the first trip the team has made to Germany to train in the past four months. But the entourage is heading with only two female athletes this time after two of their male compatriots were dropped from the team earlier this month.
The first trip to Germany took place from May to July this year and the team comprised 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalists I Wayan Sutikno, Dwi Sihmanto, Endang Sri Lestari and Germany-based Aprilia Marzuki.
On this trip, however, only Endang and Aprilia will be going.
Wayan and Dwi were among 19 athletes the National Sports Council (KONI), which is responsible for organizing the Indonesian sporting delegation to Busan, declared ineligible for the Asian Games and were removed from the training program in a campaign to make the delegation as efficient and competitive as possible.
Wayan and Dwi, despite their triumphant run at the SEA Games, were considered unlikely to win medals at the quadrennial Asian sporting showcase.
Aji said the level of competition at the Asian Games would be as strong as in the Olympics, given the fact that the world's judo stronghold was traditionally Asia.
"So, it will be a daunting prospect for our women athletes to win a medal. But they are likely to do better than their male teammates, especially in the under 70-kilogram division," he added.
He mentioned Japan, Iran, former Soviet states and host Korea as favorites in the sport.