RI skaters dream of making it at Olympics

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

They may not have reached the level of American Michelle Kwan or Russian Ekaterina Gordieva but Tengku Siti Hafzah and Tengku Siti Nur Alia are undoubtedly among our best figure skaters.

Having topped the national and Asian competitions, they are now dreaming of greater achievements by representing Indonesia at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Hafzah, known affectionately as Ica, and her younger sister Alia started skating in 1997 at the Sky Rink in Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta.

When asked what had lured them to figure skating, a relatively unknown sport here, both Ica and Alia agreed that it was the sense of achievement that kept them practicing.

"I first learned of the sport when I saw a figure skating show at Taman Anggrek Mall in 1997. I really wanted to skate," Ica, a student at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) majoring in meteorology and geophysical sciences, told reporters on Thursday.

"When I found out there was also a skating school there, I asked permission from my parents to take lessons. I began to take part in skating competitions. It is fun knowing that you can do it and win medals," she said.

Born on Dec. 15, 1983, Ica has dominated figure skating competitions at the Asian and Southeast Asian levels ever since.

Meanwhile, Alia, who was born on April 13, 1986, said figure skating competitions had really got her hooked. Sometimes, Alia even outperformed her older sister.

"There are a lot of opponents in a tournament and their performances motivate me to do my best. The more competitions I do, the more I want to improve my skills," she said.

Currently, both Ica and Alia have mastered freestyle level eight of ten levels.

"We are planning to take an examination to reach level nine but we have to do a lot of practice to pass the tests," said Ica.

"We have yet to master the triple-jump like Michelle does. This technique is essential to improve our level."

If it was the excitement of competition that both Ica and Alia said explained their desire to stick with the sport, a different opinion was expressed by their parents on why they supported their daughters.

"We can always monitor them whenever they are practicing. The current trend in the younger generation's social life is one of the reasons why we have supported them from the very beginning," said the girls' father Tengku Amir Hamzah.

However, Amir said he had faced financial difficulties in his bid to improve his daughters' skills.

"I am also concerned because figure skating doesn't have an organization yet. Currently, it is under the Indonesian Roller Skating Association (Perserosi).

"Unfortunately, Perserosi has been a vacuum for many years. I hope the National Sports Council (KONI) can lend a hand to further develop my daughters."

Amir said KONI's involvement was vital to enable his daughters' participation at the 2006 Winter Games.