Rift hits Indonesian hockey team before SEA Games

Rift hits Indonesian hockey team before SEA Games

JAKARTA (JP): With only two months to go before the 20th
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the Indonesian hockey team is still
experiencing trouble preparing itself, with a dispute between the
Indonesian Hockey Association (PHSI) and its Jakarta branch.

PHSI chairman Primadi Tabrani, who was just installed on
Friday, told reporters that the team had not been able to
practice on the synthetic carpet court in Senayan.

"The court has been rented by the Jakarta chapter. We'll talk
to the Gelora Senayan executive directors to give us the
privilege to use the court," he said.

"In the SEA Games in Brunei, we'll compete on a similar court.
If we don't train there, we may not be able to meet our target to
finish in the top three."

Primadi said if he could not solve the problem soon, 36 men's
and women's athletes would go to Lampung for physical training
there.

"As soon as we can solve the dispute, we'll call them back
here to train on the carpet," he said.

The dispute occurred in the PHSI national congress in March,
when several provincial branches urged Rajkumar Singh, the
chairman at that time, to step down. Singh had chaired PHSI since
1982.

The congress gave authority to Singh to install new officials
in the organization. The decision was protested by provincial
chapters, but KONI recognized it as the official body.

Primadi said he would ask his coaches to pay more attention to
athletes' physical condition, saying that was the main factor in
Indonesia's failure in the 1997 SEA Games here.

"We still have two months to improve their physical condition
and combine the training with technical skills," he said, adding
that he has requested help from KONI.

Primadi said that due to the limited budget, PHSI would likely
not hire a foreign coach.

"But if we get financial help, we'll probably hire a Malaysian
coach," he said.

Indonesia won a bronze with its men's team in the last SEA
Games, while the women's team did not win a medal.

Two years ago, PHSI sparked controversy by requesting that
KONI build a new synthetic carpet court, which cost KONI and the
SEA Games consortium Rp 1 billion (US$123,500).

Primadi will serve as the chairman until 2003. He will be
assisted by secretary Masturoh, treasurer Lasmono and Alex
Tendean, the official in charge of athlete development. (yan)