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)