Wynne aims to become best among Asians

JAKARTA (JP): Young Indonesian tennis player Wynne Prakusya is aimming to become the best among Asian rivals in the upcoming Olympic Games in Sydney.

Speaking during dinner at the residence of the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Wynne said that she would learn valuable lessons in her debut at the Sept. 15 to Oct. 1 quadrennial event. Tennis will start on Sept. 19 to Sept. 28 at the Sydney Olympic Park.

"I don't have lofty goals. I am only aimming to become the best among the Asian players. At least I can still win in the second round at the Olympics," said the world ranked 116.

Wynne was granted a wild card entry by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July in the singles event. In August, she and senior Yayuk Basuki earned another wild card entry in the women's doubles.

The 20-year-old Indonesian said she does not have any burdens in her first Olympics.

"There's nothing to be worried of. I don't have a burden. It's an interesting challenge for me as this is my first Olympics."

As Indonesia is not seeded in tennis, Yayuk said they are only aimming to return with the best results among Asian pairs.

"Our tough Asian rivals will come from Ai Sugiyama and Nana Miyagi of Japan. Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn and Benjamas Sangaram are also good so are the doubles from South Korea and Japan. China has a new pair in Li Na and Li Ting but I'm still optimistic that we can overcome them," said Yayuk, who will be participating in her fourth Olympics.

Wynne and Yayuk have been partnering since 1997 for the Federation Cup. They also partnered in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok where they reached the quarterfinals before bowing out to eventual gold medalists Li Fang and Chen Li.

Both players are training at the Ragunan club, owned by Martina Wijaya, prior to their departure on Sunday.

Unlike Wynne, who received a wild card in her debut, Yayuk has competed in the singles event since the 1988 Games in Seoul and kicked off her performance in the doubles event four years later.

In the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Yayuk and Suzanna Anggarkusuma Wibowo qualified due to their world ranking. Four years later, IOC issued a special invitation to Yayuk and Romana Tedjakusuma to compete in the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. (yan)