Shooters likely to skip 2002 Asian Games in Pusan

Shooters likely to skip 2002 Asian Games in Pusan

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian target shooters are likely to stay away from the
2002 Asian Games, while the country's soccer team, despite being
excluded from the tentative list of 20 eligible events released
by the National Sports Council (KONI), has insisted that "the
show must go on."

KONI has included a shooting team among the country's sporting
delegation at next year's Games, to be held in Pusan, South
Korea, between Sept. 29 and Oct. 14.

However, the Indonesian Target Shooting and Hunting
Association (Perbakin) disclosed here on Wednesday that it might
be unable to meet the call-up due to family commitments.

"The plan is being reviewed but the shooting association
probably will not send athletes. It is not because we have no
medal prospects. It's just because of non-technical obstacles,"
Anthony Sunarjo, Perbakin's secretary general, told reporters at
the KONI headquarters.

Anthony said that the country's ace trio of Sarmunah, Sylvia
Silimang and Supadmi, Asian Games silver medalists and Southeast
Asian Games champions in double trap, had intended to concentrate
on personal affairs, either for education or family commitments.

"Supadmi is sitting out due to a military academic course for
officers while Sarmunah is hoping to start a family," Anthony
said.

The three teamed up recently to win three gold medals in Kuala
Lumpur at the SEA Games last month.

Although the decision is not yet final and other options have
not been ruled out, Anthony hinted the abandonment of the plan
would be the most likely scenario to consider given the
precedence in the past.

"We once persisted in keeping athletes who had requested
maternity leave, but at the end of the day they were usually too
old to have a baby," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) hinted
that even KONI could not interfere with its plan to send a team
to Pusan.

"Why is KONI behaving like this toward us?" Eddy Elison, PSSI
spokesman asked. He was referring to the exclusion of the soccer
team from the priority list.

Eddy said PSSI was executing one of its decisions taken during
its 1999 congress, which stipulated a target of reaching the
quarterfinals in the 2002 Asian Games.

He blatantly refuted any possible review on the policy despite
a poor showing at the recent Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, where the
team finished fourth after losing to lightly-regarded Myanmar in
the bronze medal game. It was the worst showing by the country's
soccer team in recent memory according to some aficionados.

"Why should we reconsider our plan. This is a matter of
staying consistent with what has been decided by the congress,"
Eddy said.

The Indonesian soccer team was also left out of the country's
contingent in the last three Asian Games due to its unpromising
medal prospects -- in Beijing 1990, in Hiroshima 1994 and in
Bangkok 1998.

The team last participated in the Seoul Asian Games of 1986
where it reached the semifinals.

Despite their desire to represent Indonesia next year in
Pusan, PSSI appears to be far from serious when it comes to
appointing a new coach.

The PSSI disclosed a list of 18 foreign coaches who have
expressed interest in the national coaching post.

Eddy said that if PSSI picks one of them he would not
automatically take charge of the team for the Asian Games nor the
Tiger Cup, the latter being a regional tournament to be jointly
hosted by Singapore and Indonesia from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14, 2002.

Among the names interested in the job were Ivan Ivanov, a
member of the Bulgarian 1994 World Cup team, and Selimir
Milosevic of Yugoslavia, who is the former coach of club soccer
team Pelita Jaya.