Sarwono pessimistic about Davis Cup
Sarwono pessimistic about Davis Cup
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia chances of winning against South Korea in
the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania qualifying zone here next month are
getting slimmer, chairman of Indonesian Tennis Association
(Pelti) Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said yesterday.
"This time it will be much more difficult for our players to
win. We don't have many good players in stock. South Korea, on
the other hand, has a lot of them," Sarwono told The Jakarta
Post.
The Davis Cup matches will be held here from Feb. 9 to Feb.
11. Indonesia will field Suwandi, Adrian Raturandang, Donny
Susetyo and Eddy Kusdaryanto, who are an average of twenty years
old.
The fact that the four are junior players without much
international experience is also another reason why Sarwono is
not very optimistic about them.
"Fielding junior players is our priority now. We have no other
option but to start investing in them. Our senior players are now
more than 27 years old and we cannot hope for much from them. The
guard must change sooner or later, after all. And I think this is
the right time to start the rejuvenation process," Sarwono said.
As for the Federation Cup women's tennis tournament, Sarwono
said that Indonesia keeps relying on world number 32 Yayuk Basuki
and Romana Tedjakusuma.
"Pelti is yet to decide who shall fill the other two berths
available to team up with Yayuk and Romana. Certainly the two
will be given to our junior players. We're still selecting them,"
Sarwono said.
Indonesia has been drawn to meet Belgium in the Federation Cup
Group One matches in the capital, slated for April 22 to April
24.
Sarwono, who is also Minister of Environment, was making the
comment at the end of the US$328,000 Indosiar Men's Open tennis
tournament at the Senayan rebound-ace stadium yesterday.
Not a single Indonesian player survived the first round. This
has happened almost every year Indonesia hosted the tournament.
Sarwono said that "non-technical problems" were behind the
trend. Giving examples, Sarwono said that the problems are, among
other things, poor fitness, poor mentality, lack of sports
culture, and lack of intelligence and understanding of the game.
"Not all of us, meaning Pelti's administration and coaches,
are aware of these problems," Sarwono said. "We have indeed tried
to improve matters, but thus far our efforts have never touched
at the root of the problem."
Apparently, it is not easy for Sarwono to cope with the
situation. He is also having a busy time handling the country's
increasingly pressing environmental issues, Sarwono said. "I have
only been Pelti's chairman for a year." (arf)