Special meeting urged to settle tennis dispute

Special meeting urged to settle tennis dispute

JAKARTA (JP): National tennis coach Deddy Prasetyo yesterday
demanded a meeting with the Jakarta tennis governing body to
solve a growing rift between them.

The two sides began a new wrangle on Monday, with Deddy
accusing the provincial tennis body of threatening to drop
national players Eddy Kusdaryanto and Eny Sulistyowati from the
team for the National Games because they failed to comply with
its training program.

Aside from preparing for the Games in September, Eddy is
gearing up for the Davis Cup play-off tie against China from
April 5 to 7 and Eny for the Federation Cup clash against Belgium
on April 27 and 28. Indonesia hosts the two world team
championships matches.

"It would be better if we sit down together for an open debate
in front of journalists," Deddy said yesterday. Both Eddy and Eny
were groomed by Deddy before joining the national tennis elite
group.

The conflict between the two parties has never previously been
as conspicuous. Deddy is a staunch critic of the provincial
tennis body, despite his position as a research and development
official on it.

Deddy said that he received the report about the threat from
his sponsor. "I have asked for confirmation from the Jakarta
tennis body but they asked me to wait until their chief returns
home," Deddy said.

Jakarta tennis chief Martina Wijaya, who is also a
businesswoman, is currently in Singapore. She is scheduled to
return home tomorrow.

Enny admitted yesterday that nobody from the provincial tennis
body had directly told her about her possible exclusion from the
Jakarta tennis team for the National Games.

"I was so confused that I opted to go to a series of
tournaments as an individual and not representing the club," Enny
said. She, along with her Jakarta team mates, are scheduled to
compete in Singapore, Brunei, Taipei, Jakarta and Bandung next
month.

The secretary-general of the Jakarta tennis body, Mangombar
Ferdinand Siregar, denied Deddy's accusation.

"I would have known about the exclusion if it had happened,"
Siregar said. "There is nothing to quarrel about. There may be
some differences in our respective training programs, but we can
compromise and find a solution."

He said that the dispute would not have occurred if both sides
had managed to keep their tempers. "All we need is a personal
approach which should be free from prejudice," he said.

Siregar welcomed Deddy's initiative to hold a bilateral
meeting, saying that it should help both sides settle their
differences.

Siregar, who is also a noted sports observer, said that
Jakarta tennis always abides by national interests.

"We let both Eddy and Enny miss our training program when the
national tennis body needs them for international duties," he
said.

The Indonesian Tennis Association has called up Enny, Agustin
Limanto, Liza Andriani and Wynne Prakusya for national selection
for the Federation Cup. The association will pick two of them to
accompany Yayuk Basuki and Romana Tedjakusuma.

The national women's team will start centralized training on
April 1 under tutelage of Sulistyono. Suharyadi has been named
non-playing captain of the team. (amd)