Soeharto opens Asian athletics championships

Soeharto opens Asian athletics championships

JAKARTA (JP): The 11th Asian Track and Field Championships
moved into full swing yesterday, with participating athletes
vowing to maintain a sportsmanlike approach.

The pledge, read by Indonesian women's triple jumper Ira
Soeselisa, was intended as a morale-booster in the world-wide
campaign for drug-free sports.

Two doping scams have beset the sports world recently. Chinese
women's runner Du Xiujie was caught using stimulant at the
Student Games in Fukuoka last month. Nigerian sprinter Paul
Egonye tested positive for a banned stimulant at the ongoing All
Africa Games in Harare.

Following the pledge, President Soeharto declared the track
and field meet open in a grand ceremony. This is the second such
contest held here, the first being in 1985.

"In the name of Allah, I officially declare the championships
open," Soeharto said on the grand stand and pressed a button
which was followed by a deafening siren. Thousands of colorful
balloons ascended into the sky amid thunderous applause from the
crowd.

Members of the House of Representatives and cabinet ministers
were present at the opening ceremony.

The ceremony, held under a blue sky, was preceded by some 600
dancers and gymnasts on the green track and field pitch of the
Madya Senayan stadium, performing a series of dynamic Acehnese
traditional dances.

The vibrant performances, according to choreographer Sampan
Hismanto, represented the spirit of progress. Sampan said it took
him two months to prepare the show.

Then there came athletes from the 35 participating countries,
marching on the face-lifted track in alphabetic order. The two
renowned puppet show characters, Gatotkaca and his wife Pergiwa,
led the contingents.

Wearing colorful training suits, more than 700 smiling
athletes waved to the cheering crowd, mostly students. Only half
of the 15,000-seat, newly-rebuilt stadium was filled. The "Halo-
halo Bandung" song was chanted unceasingly during the big parade.

Biggest team

Thailand, preparing for the 18th Southeast Asian Games at
home, is fielding the biggest team, with 56 competitors, but only
one quarter of them joined the procession.

Re-elected president of the Asian Amateur Athletic Association
Mohamad Hasan said that the five-day championships offer a total
of 41 gold medals.

Andrei Abulvaliyev of Tadjikistan, world hammer throwing
champion, world heptathlon champion Ghada Shouaa of Syria and
women's 10,000 meter world record holder Wang Junxia of China are
expected to be highlights of the sporting event.

The Indonesian team marched at the rear, behind Uzbekistan.
The national athletes wore traditional batik shirts.

The Asian Amateur Athletics Association has considered
changing the championships from a biennial into a triennial event
in an attempt to prevent the meet from taking place in the same
year as the World Championships.

"We are afraid that Asian athletes will have already run out
of their steam after taking part in the world meet in Gothenburg
last month," Hasan said.

Fukuoka has been named the host of the 12th meet, either in
1997 or 1998, depending on the Association's decision over the
change. (amd)