Two businessmen named as karate body patrons
Two businessmen named as karate body patrons
JAKARTA (JP): After eleven top businessmen joined a fund- raising foundation for sports on Thursday, the National Sports Council named two more prominent figures to the Indonesian Karate-do Federation yesterday.
Chairman of the council Wismoyo Arismunandar said that Robby Sumampouw, a gambling tour operator for Christmas Island, and Franky Widjaja, a son of Indonesian tycoon Eka Tjipta Widjaja, will join the national karate body.
Wismoyo said in a hearing with karate federation officials that they should submit detailed annual programs to both businessmen, who will formulate a budget based on the programs.
Secretary-general of the federation, Gilbert Arthur Pesik, said that the federation this year is focusing on preparations for the 19th Southeast Asian Games here next year.
"Our main problem is that we lack full-time coaches," Pesik said. "I'm not underestimating our local coaches, but we desperately need a foreign coach."
Pesik said that local coaches do not make their living from the sport. "It always troubles us when they have to join the national training program," he said.
Pesik said that the federation planned to send more young karatekas to overseas outings. This year they are scheduled to take part in the Australia Open in Sydney in April, the Ladies Cup in Fukuoka, Japan, in July and the World Championships in South Africa in December.
The federation has also put the Ladies Cup and the Asian Championships at the top of its agenda for 1997.
Pesik asked the council to help the federation reinstate the sport as a medal event in the upcoming SEA Games. In the last SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the host dropped karate, a non- Olympic sport.
"As far as I know, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam have supported the return of karate to the SEA Games," he said.
A total of 17 karatekas will be fielded in the upcoming SEA Games in a bid to win at least seven gold medals.
The centralized training session for the SEA Games will start after the National Games this September. Pesik said that junior karatekas who won in the national championships last year will be called up. (05)