Yayuk to plump for Asiad singles instead of the mixed doubles
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's best tennis player Yayuk Basuki has decided to play in the women's singles at the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok next month instead of the mixed doubles.
National tennis training director Benny Mailili told reporters on Monday about Yayuk's decision which was made after she returned from her European tour two weeks ago.
"We've heard that Japan's Ai Sugiyama will miss the Asiad. But with or without Ai, I believe Yayuk still has a chance to win the gold in the women's singles," Benny said.
Benny mentioned Wang Shi Ting of Chinese Taipei, Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, Li Fang of China and Park Sun-he of South Korea as Yayuk's toughest rivals.
"The six players have equal opportunities in the event. They also have the same chance in the women's doubles and women's team," he said.
Yayuk, world ranked in the 40s, only won a bronze in the 1994 Asiad in Hiroshima, Japan. She also failed to win the gold in the women's doubles with partner Romana Tedjakusuma.
She will also play in the women's doubles with junior Wynne Prakusya, world ranked in the 200s.
Benny was optimistic that Indonesia would win at least one gold from the women's events.
Unlike the 1994 Asiad, Indonesia will only field a men's duo of Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo instead of a men's team.
In the mixed doubles, new partnerships of Bonit and Irawati Moerid Iskandar and Sulistyo and his younger sister Liza Andriyani are expected to steal a medal.
Benny said the association should receive its training grant from the National Sports Council this week, hopefully on Wednesday.
The council has promised US$15,450 and Rp 9.3 million (US$1,030) to cover overseas training stints.
Yayuk and her Dutch partner Caroline Vis will compete in the US$2 million Chase Championships in Madison Square Garden, New York, from Nov. 16 to Nov. 20. They are seeded eighth in the season-ending tournament which is restricted to the world's top 12 women's singles players and doubles teams.
Preceding the Chase, Yayuk is also teaming up with Vis in the Advanta Championship in Philadelphia from Nov. 9 to Nov. 15.
Wynne is competing in three $25,000 challengers in Australia while Liza and Irawati will compete in a $10,000 satellite in Manila.
Bonit and Sulistyo, along with teammate Andrian Raturandang, will compete in the Men's Asia Cup Championship in New Delhi from Nov. 24 to Nov. 29.
The Indonesian Boxing Association secretary-general, Didiet Soedijoto, said that the training in Cuba of four national boxers over the last two months was going well
The four boxers are Hermansen Ballo (featherweight), Damianus Jordan (flyweight), Bara Gomies (welterweight) and Albert Papilaya (middleweight). They have been overseen by Cuban coach Julio Lee Hechavarria and local coach Wiem Gomies.
Didiet showed a fax from Hechavarria saying that all the boxers had shown "great form technically, physically and tactically".
Three other boxers, Martin Sihombing (bantamweight), Wilpare Jamhur (lightweight) and Willem Papilaya (welterweight) are being trained in Jakarta. (yan)