Top table tennis player keen to palay in Atlanta Olympic Games
Top table tennis player keen to palay in Atlanta Olympic Games
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's top table tennis player Anton Suseno
realizes that for him to win an Olympic medal is virtually
impossible. Yet he remains very hopeful that the National Sports
Council (KONI) will send him to the Atlanta Olympic Games which
run from July 19 to Aug. 4.
"I know it would be very difficult to reach the semifinals in
Atlanta. At best, I might be able to finish among the top eight
or the top 16," Anton told The Jakarta Post by phone yesterday.
KONI has been instructed by President Soeharto to send only
athletes who have the potential to earn at least a bronze medal
at the Olympics. Unlike badminton, table tennis is not
Indonesia's strong point. Even on the Asian level, with China
being the sport's world powerhouse, Indonesian table tennis
players are virtually nobodies. Hence, it is very unlikely that
KONI will send Suseno to Atlanta. Thus far, Indonesia has won
Olympic berths in boxing, badminton, beach volleyball, archery
and tennis. But KONI is yet to decide which athletes from which
sports are worth sending to Atlanta.
Late last month, however, Anton and Indonesia's top female
table tennis player Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti each won an Olympic
berth for Indonesia. They won the berths in the last Olympic
table tennis qualifying tournament for Asian players in Chiba,
Japan, which were held from March 26 to March 28.
Referring to his win of an Olympic berth in Chiba, Anton said,
"I am very, very hopeful that I will be sent (to Atlanta)." He
said his dream might come true because the Indonesian Table
Tennis Association has just appointed a new chief, President
Soeharto's daughter Titik Prabowo.
But Anton quickly added that it would not bother him if he is
not sent to Atlanta. "For me, it is important that, just by
winning the berth I have achieved something," he said.
In Chiba, Anton and Rossy finished ninth after some
adjustments were made to ensure that no country won more than
three Olympic places. Anton actually finished 14th. Since China
and South Korea won five berths, they each had to give up two
seats. This ruling jacked up Anton's position to 10th. Then Japan
had one berth in excess. Thus, Anton's final position was ninth.
The ninth position enabled both Anton and Rossy to take the
sole berth for each gender allocated to Southeast Asia. The Chiba
qualifying tournaments offered a total of 10 tickets, seven for
East and Central Asia, one for Southeast Asia, one for South Asia
and one for West Asia. The Atlanta Olympics offers 52 berths for
each gender. Thirty-two of the 104 berths go to the world's top
32, 20 to Asia, 40 to Europe, four to Africa, four to New
Zealand, Australia and Oceania, and four to the American
continent. (arf)