SEA Games athletes to compete in world events
SEA Games athletes to compete in world events
JAKARTA (JP): In an effort to further develop their skills before the 18th Southeast Asian Games, Indonesia is sending its boxers, female sharp shooters and lady golfers to international events abroad.
The selected boxers will go to Berlin for the world amateur championships, the markswomen will join the shooting World Cup in Chiba, Japan, while the golfers will proceed to Tokyo for the annual Queen Sirikit Cup women's team competition.
Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association executive director Imron Z.S. said his team today will fly to Berlin for the championship from May 6 to 14.
Sixty-five countries, including Indonesia's SEA Games opponents Thailand and the Philippines, will participate in the championships.
The Indonesian team is made up of middleweight national champion Albert Papilaya, a quarterfinalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, flyweight Rachman Kili-kili and Hiroshima Asian Games bronze medalist light flyweight Hermensen Ballo.
Hermensen and Rachman both won gold and silver medals respectively at the March 2-9 King's Cup Amateur Boxing Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Imron said middleweight Pino Bahari, the 1990 Beijing Asian Games gold medalist, and his brother featherweight Nemo, bronze medal winner at Hiroshima Asian Games, will not be joining the Berlin-bound team and most likely will not strengthen Indonesia's SEA Games team.
The reason they and their father Daniel gave was that they have to attend school and work. Imron said the real reason is that the brothers are controlled by their self-willed father who always insists on training them himself, rather than allowing them to join the centralized intensive training programs of the Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association.
Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association has been grooming 26 boxers, including the three Berlin-bound boxers, since January for the Dec. 9-17 SEA Games.
A team of three women sharpshooters, led by coach Benny Mamoto, today will also leave for Chiba, Japan, to take part in the world shooting controlling body UIT's shotgun World Cup from May 5 to May 16.
The three, Supadmi, Sarmunah and Sylvia, are all members of the Army Women's Corps. Supadmi and Sarmunah finished fourth and fifth respectively in the women's individual clay double trap 120 targets at last year's Hiroshima Asian Games.
They will take part only in the double trap event (shooting two targets using a .12 caliber shotgun filled with two bullets) at which they excel.
Led by non-playing captain Ninik Hartono, Retno Mustari, Ani Iman and Jamila will fly to Narashino near Tokyo to take part in the Queen Sirikit Cup amateur golf tournament from May 24 to 26.
Strong teams from New Zealand, Australia and defending champion South Korea have already confirmed their entry, said Ninik. The other teams come from China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.
Ninik, who is in charge of women's and juniors' training section of the Indonesia Golf Association said they will play 18 holes each day during the three-day championships.
In a similar championship last year at the Bumi Serpong Damai course near Jakarta, Retno, Ani and Eli Mulani finished sixth behind South Korean which took the gold medal. (arf)