Tennis association faces insubordination in sports campaign

Tennis association faces insubordination in sports campaign

Eva C. Komandjaja and Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After the dismissal of women's tennis player Septi Mende from
the Indonesia Awakens (IA) training program due to indisciplinary
conduct, the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) is grappling
with further insubordination as two more players are refusing to
participate in the national sports development and improvement
program.

Men's players Febi Widhiyanto and Prima Simpatiaji, who helped
Indonesia to a 3-0 win over New Zealand in the Asia-Oceania Zone
Group 1 Davis Cup playoff in April here, said they did not have
trust in the coaching staff of the program and so refused to join
the program.

Pelti chairwoman Martina Widjaja said that she had tried to
persuade the two players to go to the camp, but they had objected
to training under coach Tintus Arianto Wibowo, claiming that he
was not competent enough to be a coach.

Tennis is one of 12 sports in which Indonesia is looking to
boost its medal chances at the 2006 Asian Games. For the
campaign, the National Sports Council (KONI) has designated an
intensified training schedule for an elite group of athletes in
what it calls the Indonesia Awakens (IA) program.

Pelti has listed seven tennis players, including Indonesia's
top women Angelique "Angie" Widjaja and Wynne Prakusya. The rest
are less experienced players like Sunu Wahyu Trijati, Sandi
Purnomo, Ayrtan Wibowo, Agung Bagus on the men's side and Sandy
Gumulya on the women's side.

Given that the men's category is made up of young players,
Pelti has been looking to include more experienced players like
Febi and Prima.

Martina said that using the training base in Ragunan, East
Jakarta, as designated by KONI, was obligatory for the players
ranked obove 200th in the world.

"If the players' rank is under 150, like Angie, they have
freedom to choose where to practice. Otherwise, they should
comply with KONI rules," she told reporters on Wednesday.

Defiance apparently led to the dismissal in the case of Septi
Mende. Like Septi, Febi, who is ranked 782nd, and Prima, who is
911th, prefer to train under their regular coach Deddy Prasetyo.

They now face exclusion, not only from the 2006 Asian Games in
Qatar, but also from the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the
Philippines.

Meanwhile, injury-plagued Angie said on Wednesday that she
would depart to Melbourne, Australia on Nov. 10 to receive
medical treatment for her nagging left knee injury that doctors
here have been unable to figure out.

Angie's world ranking has dropped from 55th in March last year
to a current 130th due to her poor performances, which have been
blamed on the injury.

"I will consult a doctor there to determine how long I must
rest from tennis," she said, adding that she hoped to play at the
Australian Open early next year.

In Melbourne, she also plans to meet her Australian physical
trainer Marc Reid to help improve her physical condition.

Angie sustained the injury at the Volvo Master's tournament in
November last year.