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)