RI to send archers for warm-up in Arizona

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Archery Association (Perpani) will dispatch its top archers to compete in an open championships in Arizona to warm up for the 2000 Olympic Games qualifying rounds.

Team manager Joseph Renyut said the tournament was from April 16 to April 20.

"We cannot afford to fail in the qualifying round because it will decide our fate to compete in the Olympics," he was quoted as saying by Suara Pembaruan evening daily on Thursday.

Perpani plans to send Nurfitriyana Saiman Lantang, Hamdiah, Lusia Elisabeth and Kusuma Wardhani for the women's event and Hendra Setijawan, Wahyu Hidayat, Yulianto and Permadi Sandra in the men's.

Olympics qualification includes the World Championships in Riom, France, from July 22 to July 26 and the Asian Championships in Beijing from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.

Renyut said the women archers showed improvement during training with South Korean coach Lee Jae-hyun.

Perpani secretary-general Udi Harsono said that Hamdiah still needed time to adapt technically because she joined the training program only two weeks ago. Kusuma needed to improve her physical conditioning.

Udi said qualifying for the Olympics would be a decisive moment for Lee because Indonesia has always qualified for the Olympics since taking a silver in the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, its first medal in the world's biggest sports festival.

"If our athletes fail to qualify for the Olympics, we won't extend Lee's contract. But if Lee makes it, we'll hire him until the 2000 Olympics," he said.

Lee expressed disappointment with Perpani's decision to start the training in March, which shortened the time to prepare athletes for the qualification.

The archers failed to contribute a medal in the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok last year.

Donald Pandiangan -- who coached the 1988 Olympic medal- winning women's team of Nurfitriyana, Kusuma and Lilies Handayani -- will coach the men's team. (yan)