Sarwono urges media not to play up Wynne's victory

JAKARTA (JP): The media must not give too much coverage to Wynne Prakusya, who recently won the Asia Oceania Group I Fed Cup Qualifying Round for Indonesia.

The Indonesia Tennis Association's chairman, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, said the Indonesia public can be cruel.

"The line between a compliment and condemnation here is very thin," he said.

Sarwono, who is also the state minister of environment, said it is acceptable for people to compliment athletes when they reach their highest achievement, but they should not blame the athletes when they lose.

"I'm worried about the possible media coverage on Wynne. Please cover her in a proper way," he said.

Yayuk Basuki, world ranked 24, agreed with Sarwono.

"Wynne is a young player with potential. If she is given too many compliments, it could influence her career," she said.

Wynne, Yayuk, Eny Sulistyowati and Mimma Chernovita were the country's heroines in the Fed Cup tie last week in Wellington.

The 16-year-old Wynne was unbeatable in her seven matches, five in singles and two in doubles.

Indonesia will compete in the World Group II playoffs on July 12 and July 13.

Indonesia will most likely meet either Austria, Slovakia, South Korea or South Africa.

Coach Utaminingsih said the team will prepare for the playoffs by taking part in other international tournaments.

Physical trainer Paulus Pasurnay said they still have two months to train and improve their physical performance.

"They still need to increase their speed and power," he said.

Junior

The association has decided not to field Wynne in the Danamon Indonesia Open here next month. The tier four tournament offers a cash prize of US$100,000 and will be participated in by the world top 20 to top 100 players.

The association has decided to instead send Wynne and Eny to the Japan Open Junior Championship and the Asian Close Junior Tournament, both held in Tokyo next month.

Benny Mailili, an official of the association's National Team Board, said it would be better for Wynne and Eny to play in the junior tournaments and reach the quarterfinals rather than lose in a tier four satellite in the first round.

Wynne expressed disappointment as the association gave a wild card to compatriot Liza Andriyani, who is not a member of the national team.

"I realize that I'm still a junior but the association could have given wild cards to other national team members instead of to an outside player," she said. (yan)