Shenny needs to reach best 5 in Asian C'ships
Shenny needs to reach best 5 in Asian C'ships
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian women's diver Shenny Ratna Amelia is
expected to reach the best five at the Asian Swimming
Championships in Pusan, South Korea, late March as a warm-up for
the Olympic Games in September.
Coach Harly Ramayani said during training at the Senayan
swimming pool Friday that if Shenny failed to reach the best
five, the Indonesian Swimming Federation (PRSI) threatened not to
send her to the Olympics.
"That's the requirement from PRSI. The federation also will
reconsider sending Shenny for six-weeks training in China should
she fail in the championships," she said.
Harly has plans to send Shenny to Beijing under supervision of
Chinese diving head coach Zhung Shao Zhun.
"Should Shenny manage to reach the best five in the
championships, she will fly to Beijing in July after the 15th
National Games (PON) in Surabaya in June."
Harly expressed hope that PRSI would still send Shenny to
Beijing even if she failed in the championships.
"As her coach, I want her to have the chance to improve her
technical skills. She has a lot of potential. Her dives have a
degree of difficulty reaching 3.00 but she needs to compete
more."
She also said Shenny had to compete in PON despite lack of
rivals because she needs many competitions right now.
Shenny will compete in the platform event along with teammates
Eka Purnama Indah (women's springboard), Muhammad Nasrullah
(men's platform) and Sukran Jamjami (men's springboard).
The 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalist failed to
perform at her best in the World Championships in Sydney in
January.
"She had yet to achieve her peak form and the result was not
good. We only tried out in the Olympic swimming pool and observed
her potential rivals," Harly said.
Harly, a former diver herself, named Chinese Fu Mingxia as
Shenny's toughest rival also divers from Japan, Kazakhstan and
Belarus.
Shenny is the second Indonesian to qualify for the Olympics
after Myrna Sukasah in the 1976 Olympics in Muenchen.
"I want Shenny to reach her peak in the Olympics and have her
milestones in the SEA Games and Asian Games. That's opposed to
the National Sports Council (KONI) request that Shenny reach her
peak in the SEA Games," Harly said. (yan)