Sports center reflects RI-Korea relationship

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's sporting world has a generous partner in South Korea, with the recent completion of the Cibubur sports center in East Jakarta, a testament to the good relations between the two countries.

Last month, the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) officially handed over the 2,100-seat center, officially named the Sports Center for Korea Indonesia Friendship, to the Indonesian government.

The center was opened on March 13; one day before the start of the Fifth LG National Taekwondo championship.

The fully air-conditioned building, built on a 2.5-hectare plot of land owned by the government, can host four events -- taekwondo, badminton, basketball and volleyball.

Oh Il Nam, a South Korean who has been living here since 1989 coaching the Indonesia national team, said the center would focus on developing taekwondo athletes in the country.

Indonesia, which had competed in the martial art for more than two decades, previously had never had such a facility, Oh said.

"In 2000, I had an idea to build a taekwondo center, so I went to KOICA and the sport directorate in the Minister of Education at that time for support," Oh said.

The institutions first approved the proposal in 2003 and the project started in April last year with funding from KOICA. After completion, the center was handed over to the government through the Office of the State Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs.

Oh said government was likely to hand over the management of the center to the Indonesian Taekwondo Association, which would cooperate with business to manage the center, he said.

Sports directorate head Thoho Cholik Motohir said it was a good idea that professionals be brought in to manage the center.

"The government does not really have money to maintain the sports center," he said.

Thoho said the government was still studying options about how the center would be managed.

Meanwhile, Indonesian taekwando head Ade Lukman said the association planned to establish an academy for the sport in the center.

The academy would train all ages and all levels so that taekwondo would grow as a sport in the country, he said.

Oh said one idea for the new academy was to go on a nationwide talent search for new athletes.

"We are planning to look for 50 boys and 50 girls across the country to be trained at the new sports center," he said.