SEA Games sharpshooters go for overseas stint

JAKARTA (JP): National sharp shooters, training for the 19th SEA Games, will go to Taiwan for a series of trials from Aug. 21 to Aug. 29.

Twenty-five SEA Games sharpshooters are expected to improve their skills through a series of overseas matches before the regional Games here in October.

Included in the team are Inca Fery, Yuniarti Ilyas, Shilla Prasasti and Suparni who are training for the women's air rifle individual and team events.

For the men's individual and team free pistol events, the Indonesian Shooting Association has been training Soleh, Sutadi and A. Mauludi.

Before the Taiwan trials, they took part in matches in South Korea between Aug. 10 and Aug. 18.

Several double trap shooters will also compete in the Asian Clay championships in Brunei Darussalam this month.

Indonesia's sharpshooters will have to work hard to win golds in the shooting events because at the seventh Kapolri Cup at the end of July, their scores were way below the Games record.

National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar called on all athletes to work hard to reclaim the overall title Indonesia lost to Thailand in 1995.

"Overseas competitions are good tests for the national marksmen and markswomen before they represent their country in the coming SEA Games," he said after briefing the sharpshooters yesterday.

Wismoyo also told the association to prepare junior athletes for the coming SEA Games.

Preparations are also underway at the Indonesian Billiards Association.

The association is preparing 30 athletes for the Games in four billiards events.

To improve their performance, they were sent overseas for matches in Brunei Darussalam in December last year, and Japan and Malaysia in January.

Some Indonesian billiard players will also go to Utrecht, in the Netherlands on Aug. 25 to take part in an overseas training program.

They are Roby Suwarli, Imron and Jimmy Arianto. (03)