Setiawan brothers rethink resignations
JAKARTA (JP): Brothers Hengky Setiawan and Herry Janto Setiawan have agreed to join the cycling centralized training program for the 19th SEA Games despite an Indonesian Cycling Association statement saying they have retired.
Both Hengky and Herry confirmed their participation in the national training squad to SEA Games training director Djoko Pramono yesterday.
Djoko said that he would speak to the association to find out if it still needed both riders and also if it could guarantee that Hengky and Herry's substitutes were potential gold-medal winners.
Herry won the 1,000 meters Individual Time Track silver medal in the 1995 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, while elder brother Hengky won the gold in the 4-kilometer Team Pursuit.
"The organization must have adequate substitute before letting you retire. But if you both agree to join the national team, then I'll speak to the organization to arrange the training for you," Djoko told Hengky and Herry.
The confusion arose when the association announced both cyclists' resignation before they had sent an official letter to the association and the National Sports Council.
Hengky and Herry submitted the letter on Jan. 13 to the council's Secretary-General Rudolph Warouw.
On receiving the resignation, the council's chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar urged both athletes to reconsider because they still have the potential to win gold medals.
"Before Pak Wismoyo spoke to us, we didn't want to join the team because we have to think about our futures. The association said that it already had adequate substitutes. It wouldn't have been a problem if we had missed the Games," Herry said.
"But since Pak Wismoyo urged us to join the team, we started to think it over. We don't want the public to accuse us of being unpatriotic because we're not," Hengky said.
However, they said that they wanted coaches Wahyudi Hidayat and Endang Subagyo to train them for the October Games.
"They coached us to our previous successes. We believe that they can coach us better to win more gold medals," Herry said.
Indonesian gymnasts being groomed for the SEA Games have adapted to the new international rules, which came into effect Jan. 1, 1997, Sri Hastuti Merdiko, the Indonesian Gymnastic Association's secretary-general, said yesterday.
The International Gymnastics Federation's new rules state that each team is to consist of six athletes; five can compete and only four are judged.
Another new rule is that all athletes taking part in psn- continental games and the Olympics must be at least 16 years old. The reason is to avoid injuries in athletes of a tender age.
The most testing rule is that every movement in a routine will be judged only once, even though the movement may be performed several times.
"Coaches must now create more variations. It can also help the development of the sport by avoiding monotonous routines," Hastuti said.
Indonesia's eight male and 18 female athletes are being trained by Russians Yuri Kouznetsov and Irina Voino. The association is still waiting for three other Russian coaches to arrive.
Jonathan Sianturi, who earned two golds in the last Games, is still the mainstay of the men's team. Novi Kartiana Sari and Afrina Suryani Siahaan will lead the women's team.
Indonesia, which won only two golds, one silver and four bronzes at the 1995 Chiang Mai Games, in Thailand. It sees Thailand and Malaysia as its toughest rivals at the Jakarta Games.
The association plans to send six referees to sit an international examination in Malaysia in March.
"We will send them in the hope they can be chief referees at the Games," Hastuti said. (yan)