Shooting body to hire Chinese coach
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Target Shooting and Hunting Association (Perbakin) will hire a Chinese coach for the Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian (SEA) Games training program.
Perbakin chairman Sutiyoso said on Thursday, on the sidelines of the SEA Games roll call ceremony, that he expected the shooting team to win two golds in the individual and team double trap event.
Indonesia earned two golds in the 1999 Games in Brunei Darussalam.
Sutiyoso, also Jakarta's governor, said a modest target was set as the SEA Games Federation decided not to feature eight events which were gold mines for Indonesia. The shooting event is offering 34 golds.
"We won 11 golds in the 1997 Games in Jakarta because the eight events were featured. However, this year we may lose between five and eight golds in our best events," he said without elaborating.
However, Sutiyoso failed to mention when the Chinese coach would arrive here for the training.
"I will make it fast. Perhaps the coach can come on a tourist visa before we arrange a work permit for him."
The shooting project manager Benny Mamoto said Perbakin had nominated three Chinese coaches-- Lu Liansheng, Li Weiguang and Wang Shichun -- to coach the training squad.
"We dropped Lu's name from the list because he had already coached Vietnam. We are waiting for confirmation from Li and Wang."
He also said the three Chinese coaches had trained the Indonesian team in the past.
"Lu worked in Indonesia from 1995 to 1997, while Li in 1998 and Wang from 1992 to 1994."
Benny said the selected coach would get an allowance between US$1,500 and $2,000.
"The coach might work here for three months. I am confident it will be fruitful. All the candidates have trained Indonesian shooters before, so they will have no problems adjusting. Besides, the shooters only need finishing touches," he said.
Seventeen shooters will attend the third phase of the training program for the biennial event. They will perform in seven of 20 events featured in the Games: women's trap, women's double trap, rapid fire pistol, small-bore, sport rifle prone, sport pistol and air rifle match.
The women's double trap team, who are leading the Indonesian team for the medal hunt, comprise Sarmunah, Sylvia Silimang and Supadmi.
"The team competed in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan. But women's double trap teams from Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam are equally competent," Benny said.
He also said the shooting team was not facing a shortage of bullet supply.
"The Perbakin chairman gives us his full support in providing the facilities."
The double trap team is being trained at the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Headquarters in Cilodong, West Java, while the pistol and rifle team at the shooting range in the Bung Karno Sports Complex, Senayan. (ivy)