Tae kwon do coach Oh reassigned as consultant
Tae kwon do coach Oh reassigned as consultant
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Taekwondo Association (TI), citing the need for
"regeneration" in its coaching ranks, has replaced head coach Oh
Il Nam with Rizon Oktolibsa of West Java.
The decision was announced in a letter from the association,
signed by its chairman Suharto on Dec. 28, to the National Sports
Council (KONI). The latter received the letter on Monday.
Oh, a South Korean who was formerly the coach of the Indonesia
Awakens (IA) sports development program, is now its coaching
consultant, Suharto wrote.
"Our intention to replace Oh with a local coach is for the
regeneration of coaches in the country," association secretary-
general Ade Lukman reiterated on Tuesday.
However, Oh had been the target of criticism in recent months
for failing to get results at important events.
In October, former national tae kwon do coaches Alex Harijanto
from Central Java and Dasantio Prihadi from West Java said Oh
should be dismissed.
They argued that his athletes had failed to achieve
satisfactory results at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the
Asian Games and the Olympics.
Alex recommended Oh return to his position of trainer, which
he was originally hired as in 1994. He had been named head coach
on an event basis since 2003.
The country swept six golds at the 1997 SEA Games in Jakarta,
but came home with a disappointing one gold at the 1999 event and
two in both the 2001 and 2003 games.
At the 2002 Asian Games, the bronzes of Juana Wangsa Putri and
Dalam Imam were considered disappointing.
Indonesia's top tae kwon do athletes, Juana and Satriyo
Rahadani, crashed out in the first round at the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens.
His replacement, Rizon, coached the West Java team that was
the overall champion in the sport at the 2004 National Games in
Palembang.
Separately, Oh said he did not have a problem with the
reassignment.
"I just lost the head coach's position, however, I see my
current duty as consultant is the same."
The association's letter also informed KONI that IA athlete
Utami Dewi from West Java had been replaced by East Java's
Rahadewi Neta.
Ade said Utami had difficulty in seeking a leave of absence
from her university in Bandung to join the centralized training
centers in Jakarta and Semarang.
Utami preferred to train in Bandung, but the association could
not find her a coach, Ade said.
Neta joins nine other athletes in the IA training program:
Satriyo, Derry Darmansyah, Gerrie Permadi, Ronny Kusdiantoro,
Taufik Krisna, Basuki Nugroho, Rosandi, Juana and Ariesti
Prawita.
Utami is not the only athlete to find it difficult to balance
her scholastic and athletic commitments. Last month, Kartika
Ekawati decided to continue her studies in Yogyakarta and
practice there instead of Jakarta.
KONI and the Indonesian Karate do Federation (Forki) approved
Kartika's request because they do not require participation in a
centralized training program in the sport.