Shuttlers get other training facility
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian shuttlers, targeting two gold medals at the Olympic Games, will benefit from a special training facility in a sports hall in a high school near the athletes' village at Homebush Bay in Sydney.
Indonesia's Olympic training director, Arie Sudewo, said on Monday the Indonesian community in Sydney invited the shuttlers to train in the hall, which is a 30-minute walk from the athletes' village.
"The Indonesian community, mostly consisting of people from West Sumatra, have asked the shuttlers to practice in the sports hall. The community has a badminton club and they regularly rent the sports hall to practice.
"Our shuttlers will no longer have to depend on the practice facility provided by the organizers," said Arie, who is also the vice chairman of the National Sports Council (KONI).
Nineteen men's and women's shuttlers and eight coaches and officials will be part of the last batch of the Indonesian Olympic contingent leaving for Sydney on Sunday.
The shuttlers are Taufik Hidayat, Hendrawan and Marlev Mainaky in the men's singles; Flandy Limpele, Eng Hian, Ricky Soebagdja, Rexy Mainaky, Tony Gunawan and Candra Wijaya in the men's doubles; Tri Kusharjanto, Bambang Supriyanto, Minarti Timur and Zelin Resiana in the mixed doubles; Lydia Djaelawidjaja and Ellen Angelinawaty in the women's singles; and Elysa Nathanael, Deyana Lomban, Etty Tantri and Cynthia Tuwankotta in the women's doubles.
Also leaving on Sunday are women's divers Shenny Ratna Amelia and Eka Purnama Indah; men's diver Muhammad Nasrullah and coach Harli Ramayani; men's table tennis players Anton Suseno, Ismu Harinto and coach Adjat Sudrajat; women's taekwondoins Juana Wangsa Putri, Rahadewi Neta and coach Oh Il-nam; men's swimmers Richard Sam Bera, Albert Christiadi Sutanto, Felix Christiadi Sutanto, Steven Chandra and coach Lisa Farida Siregar; women's tennis players Yayuk Basuki, Wynne Prakusya and coach Suzana Anggar Kusuma; men's judoka Kresna Bayu; women's judoka Aprilia Marzuki and coach Iswanda S. Sutanto.
Arie said 11 athletes and 11 coaches and officials would leave for Sydney on Tuesday. The athletes and coaches are women's sprinter Irene Truitje Joseph; men's sprinters Subakir, Sukari, John Herman Murray, Erwin Heru Susanto and Yanes Raubaba, and coaches Bambang Wahjudi and Pieter Noya; boxers Hermansen Ballo, La Paene Massara and coach Frans Van Bronckhorst; women's weightlifters Sri Indriyani, Winarni and Lisa Rumbewas, and coaches Imron Rosadi and Lukman.
Pieter Noya said he and Bambang had named three possible lineups for the men's 4x100m relay team. The first is Sukari, Erwin, Subakir and John; the second alternative will have Yanes running the third leg instead of Subakir; and in the third option, Subakir will run the first leg of the relay, followed by Erwin, John and Yanes.
"We have one week before the day of the competition to decide on the best team," he said, adding that Yanes had reached his top form after suffering from typhoid last month.
In an unrelated development, KONI official in charge of athlete development, Moch. Hindarto, said on Monday the council had set the physical standards to be used to select athletes for the centralized training center for the 2001 Southeast Asian Games here next year.
The standard includes the 30 meter run, two minutes of sit- ups, flexibility and the vertical jump.
"The male athletes should run (the 30m) in less than 4.3 seconds and the women 5.5. The men should be able to do 55 sit- ups and the women 50. The men should be able to stretch up to 25 centimeters and the women 30cm. And finally, the men should be able to jump a minimum of 60cm high and the women 50cm," he announced. (ivy)