Women's hockey event canceled: Official

JAKARTA (JP): The 14th National Games Organizing Committee disqualified women's hockey as a medal event yesterday after discovering a team had entered the competition illegally.

Mochammad Hindarto, a senior Games official, told a press conference that women's hockey failed to meet the minimum number of five contestants after a last-minute disqualification of Yogyakarta.

Hindarto, however, was tightlipped when asked about the late finding which followed a letter from the Yogyakarta sports body on Monday saying that its women's hockey team took part here without its consent.

Yogyakarta lined up in the competition with Jakarta, East Java, West Java and Irian Jaya after winning their respective qualifiers. But the Yogyakarta sports body did not register its team after learning that its gold medal-winning chances looked slim. Ironically, Yogyakarta reached the final against Irian Jaya.

The Yogyakarta hockey association, however, insisted on sending the team to the Games and decided to cover the team's daily expenses during their stay here.

Hindarto said that his staff had asked the Indonesian Hockey Association about the participation of Yoyakarta's women's team on Aug. 26, but received no reply.

Even in the final check-in on Aug. 29, the national hockey association kept quiet about Yogyakarta's entry, according to Hindarto.

"The hockey body sent us three letters, but none of them talked about the women's team's participation," Hindarto added.

Yogyakarta's disqualification from the women's hockey reduced the competition to an exhibition event, but it will not affect its proceedings.

"It depends on the hockey competition officials whether to hold the final or not," Hindarto said.

Hindarto also hinted that the National Sports Body is considering taking punitive measures against officials of both the national hockey body and its Yogyakarta branch over the violation of procedures.

The Indonesian Hockey Association has had an uncertain relationship with the National Sports Council after the council dropped hockey from the sports Indonesia would compete in at the Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand last year. (yan)