RI names 3 boxers for Fajr tournament

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Boxing Association has named three national boxers to compete in next week's Fajr International Boxing Tournament in Teheran, Iran, as part of their lead up to the 19th SEA Games.

The association's secretary-general, Didiet Soedijoto, said Thursday that Hermansen Balo (flyweight), Herry Makawimbang (bantamweight) and Bara Gomies (welterweight) would fight in the tournament, from Feb. 14 to Feb. 21.

Didiet said the three boxers were not expected to win the tournament but "learn from an international tournament after three months of grooming".

"The reason for sending them is to give them more experience in international tournaments to boost their competitive spirit," he said.

The association plans to send other boxers to international tournaments, including the Young-Men's Christian Association event in New Delhi, Pakistan, from March 5 to March 11, the King's Cup in Bangkok from April 5 to April 11 and the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia, also in April.

Didiet said the national training center had been moved yesterday from Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, to the Marine Command headquarters in Cilandak, South Jakarta.

Twenty-one national boxers and four juniors are being groomed at the new training center.

The marine headquarters was selected as a training center to increase athlete discipline. The coaches will only be responsible for the technique and physical condition of boxers.

"So far, the coaches have had to deal with every problem. After we evaluated it, we found that the boxers lacked training discipline. We'll ask the marines to train them for discipline," Didiet said.

Antara reported that the association had dropped 10 boxers from its squad. They failed to qualify for the Games last week.

Three more athletes are expected to join the national squad. They are Otong Kosasih (middleweight), Syarif Hidayat (middleweight) and Dedi Mikaso (lightmiddleweight).

"We have 22 boxers, including these three and Pino Bahari, and we'll select them down to only 11 athletes at the Presidents Cup championship in July," Didiet said.

Pino, the 1990 Asian Games gold medalist, is being trained by his father and coach Daniel Bahari in his hometown Denpasar, Bali, because of his injury and ambition to turn professional. (yan)