Ruwiyati to take test before Games

JAKARTA (JP): The training director for the 19th SEA Games, Djoko Pramono, said the decision to include Ruwiyati, the marathon record breaker at the 1995 Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, will be made in June following a physical examination.

"Ruwiyati is suffering from osteoporosis and is undergoing treatment now. Hopefully, she will recover before June," he said.

Ruwiyati clocked two hours 34 minutes and 29.12 seconds, breaking the SEA Games record. She finished faster than Singaporean Yvone Danson Tan, who finished second at the 1995 Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Djoko said he would not force the 20-year-old runner to take part in the Games, scheduled from Oct. 11 to Oct. 19 here, because she has the potential to run for about 10 more years.

"If we force her to run this year, I'm afraid she will only take part in the Games once," he said.

Coach Alwi Mujianto said Ruwiyati is still practicing at her club -- Tiger Lokomotif in Salatiga, Central Java -- and is also receiving medical treatment.

Alwi is optimistic that if Ruwiyati recovers, she can win two golds in the 10,000 meters and marathon events.

"Ruwiyati had only practiced intensively for one month before breaking the records in the last Games. If she passes the physical examination in June, she will be better prepared," he said.

The Indonesian Basketball Association's vice chairman, Sutiyoso, said the Games training program for the women's team will start on March 1, two months behind schedule.

"I guarantee that the training will start on March 1, although some players resigned for several reasons," he said Monday.

Four players -- Jinaryati Yoesoef, Liem Bing Tjoe, Sri Suryana and Joan Suryana -- resigned from training because of study and work-related obligations.

Only 16 players, mostly from East Java, will join the training. Djoko had suggested moving the training to Surabaya because most of the athletes live there. The association, however, decided to conduct the training in Jakarta.

Since early this month, five players -- Puspa Indah, Theresia Ninon, Liana, Nina and Triana Dewi -- have been training with Chinese coach Huang Chang Yu.

Enoch Markum, the Ministry of Education and Culture's deputy for college students, said state and private universities do not forbid athletes from leaving their studies to join the national training program.

He said most athletes decline to leave their studies because there is no certainty of being picked for the country's squad. (yan)