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.