Women's hockey event canceled: Official

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)