Rp 200m offered for gold medalist
Rp 200m offered for gold medalist
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Table Tennis Association (PTMSI) is offering Rp
200 million (US$23,500) in cash for any table tennis player who
can win a gold medal at the 22nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
"The bonuses will be provided only for gold medalists," Dedi
K. Wikanta told a media conference here on Friday.
Dedi said the promises were a clear sign of the association's
appreciation of the players, who had trained hard in their
overseas camp in Pyongyang, North Korea, and were expected to
motivate them further to excel their efforts at the SEA Games.
The 22nd SEA Games will be staged from Dec. 5 to 13 in
Vietnam.
The Indonesian table tennis body has prepared nine athletes,
eight of whom, five men and three women, have been training in
Pyongyang since July.
They are Ismu Harinto, David Jacob, Jaenuddin, Yon Mardiono,
Reno Handoyo, Christine, Nilasari and Septi Diah.
One other -- Lindawati -- is in Beijing.
"They were battling against the freezing weather of Pyongyang
during their workouts. Hopefully, it will have built character
for and prepared them for Vietnam," Dedi said.
He said the team, which is under the coaching duo of Pak Yong-
nam and Li Song-gil, displayed an encouraging performance during
their participation in the China Open last September.
Speaking about the medal prospects in Vietnam, Dedi said that
while the team would pose equal chances in the men's field they
would push their women's contenders to shoot for gold in the
doubles given the current regional strength map that Singapore,
with its three Chinese migrants on the squad, would be definitely
tough to beat in the singles.
"They (three Chinese-Singaporeans) are almost invincible. We
will be trying to fight it out in the doubles," he said, adding
that Malaysian and Thai women would be other strong rivals.
"Thailand is also strong in the men's along with host
Vietnam," he said.
In the Malaysian SEA Games two years ago, Indonesia only
brought home two golds and three silvers. Singapore swept five of
seven golds on offer with Thailand and Vietnam taking one each.