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.