RI water polo team badly need tryout for SEA Games

JAKARTA (JP): The national water polo team desperately needs a tryout session with a stronger team to prepare itself for the Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in September.

"Our national team is much stronger than others in the country and it's difficult for PRSI to evaluate its performance. We need to warm up with a better team, at least at a similar level, to enable us to learn more and identify our weaknesses," PRSI's water polo technical committee deputy Andreas Legawa, told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Monday.

"PRSI has proposed that the National Sports Council (KONI) send the national team to Japan for an overseas stint in late July. But it will depend on KONI's financial situation."

Andreas revealed that most of Indonesia's opponents in the SEA Games had sent their teams abroad for over a month.

"Malaysia is training in Armenia, Singapore in Europe, the Philippines in Australia and Thailand has a training camp in China."

PRSI tested its players' skills during the just-concluded mini water polo team national championship at the Bung Karno swimming pool.

Senior players were put into Pelatnas A team, while Pelatnas B fielded junior players.

"Both teams comprise the best players from Jakarta, East Java, North Sumatra, West Java and Jambi, selected from the Surabaya 2000 National Games (PON)," Andreas said, adding that both teams had superb victories, with more than 10 points over their rivals.

"With such strength, it's hard for other domestic teams to offer any resistance to the national team."

PRSI is currently grooming 15 players and has set itself a target of second or third place. Indonesia grabbed bronze medal at the 1999 Games in Brunei Darussalam. (nvn)