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)