Squash players to battle in ISCI Open

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Squash players from all across Indonesia will meet on Friday at the International Sports Club of Indonesia (ISCI) in Ciputat, South Jakarta, to take part in the annual, three-day ISCI Open.

"Players from squash clubs in North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Kalimantan, West Java, East Java, Banten and Jakarta provinces have confirmed their participation in the ISCI Open," Farquhar Stirling of the tournament's organizing committee said in a media statement on Wednesday.

"Ninety percent of this year's participants are Indonesian, with the rest being expatriates. And the largest contingents are expected from Jakarta and Bandung."

Besides the men's and women's divisions, this year's tournament will introduce the "veterans" division for players aged 55 and above.

Bambang GS, technical advisor of the Squash Association of Indonesia (PSI), said the tournament was fruitful for grooming Indonesian squash players, especially in their international performance.

He cited former tournament champion Djoni Supardi, who won the bronze medal in the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur, as an example.

Key players in the men's division will include previous champions Djoni Supardi from the Hilton Executive Club and Nuryanto, both from Jakarta.

Among the women participants are sisters Fenny and Juwita, Indonesian national team members from East Kalimantan, and favorites in the tournament.