Sutiyoso opens wrestling meet

Sutiyoso opens wrestling meet

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso officially opened the seventh
National Wrestling Junior Championships at Ragunan Sport Complex,
South Jakarta on Saturday.

Sutiyoso said such championships were important to develop
young athletes in the future. He also said wrestling was a good
sport to foster youth's mental growth as it required discipline
and stamina.

Sutiyoso sponsors the championships in his capacity as the
governor of Jakarta. He also promised to replace the current cup
with a larger one.

Some 70 wrestlers from 11 provinces -- North Sumatra, Jambi,
Bengkulu, Lampung, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java,
West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and East Kalimantan -- took
part in the 18 to 20 years age group championships.

The chairman of the Indonesian Wrestling Association (PGSI),
Andi M. Ghalib, told Sutiyoso that PGSI provided prizes for the
first, second and third place finishers at the event.

Ghalib also said national wrestlers needed to improve their
speed during matches, which was the main factor in their failure
to win.

"Indonesian wrestlers are able to compete with other
countries' wrestlers considering their physical features. The
problem is they lack speed," he said. (nvn)