Tae kwon do team for SEA Games announced

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tae kwon do Association (TI) announced its core squad for the final gear-up for the Kuala Lumpur 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

"Team members were named on Wednesday following an evaluation meeting considering tae kwon doins' techniques and skills, self- control, mental strength and tournament experience," TI's secretary-general Adrian Lumowa was quoted as saying by Antara on Thursday.

"The evaluation was made by South Korean head coach Oh Il-nam and coaches Dasantyo Pribadi of West Java, Setiono of East Java and Fadli Potu."

The team consists of eight tae kwon doins in the men's and women's divisions and four substitutes respectively.

Indonesia's best tae kwon doins Juana Wangsa Putri, Rahadewi Neta and Neta's older brother Satrio Rahadani will power up the team to grab four of 16 gold medals at stake.

TI also named M Dalam Iman in finweight, Satrio in flyweight, Dery Darmansyah in bantamweight, Taufik in the featherweight, Basuki in lightweight, Rosandi in welterweight, Joko in middleweight and Karuna in men's heavyweight classes.

The substitutes are Innosensius and Wildan for finweight or flyweight, Charles Assa in lightweight or welterweight and Bayu Firmansyah in welterweight. The substitutes can adjust their weights depending on the circumstances.

In the women's side, the athletes are Ika Dian Fitria in finweight, Juana in flyweight, Rahadewi in bantamweight, Voppy Tresnawati in featherweight, Onyas Nirmalasari in lightweight, Amalia in welterweight, Margareth Emerald in middleweight and Ervina Noviyanti in heavyweight classes.

The substitutes are Utami Dewi in fin- or flyweight, Farah Faradea in bantamweight, Farida Murfhi in lightweight and Megasari in heavy weight.

Before the announcement, 42 tae kwon doins had been undergoing grooming for the Games, including Satrio, who has been training in South Korea and Karuna who is in the United States for study.

The team will start the final preparation on June 1 at the Ragunan Sports School in South Jakarta.

"The team will undergo a one-month training session in South Korea from June 11 while the substitutes will remain in Ragunan," said Adrian.

"The main team will compete in two tournaments during their stay. But we will not field the whole team."

Adrian said the lineup could be changed at any time on account of injury or personal progress.

"There's always the possibility that the main athletes could get injured during training. If an athlete fails to show progress in the overseas stint, we can replace him or her with a substitute who could achieve a better result." (nvn)