Young Taekwon Doins offered training

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tae kwon do Association (TI) chairman Suharto expressed hope on Sunday to recruit young athletes in the first LG Cup National Tae kwon do Championships at the Senayan Indoor Stadium.

Suharto said young talented taekwon doins, aged under 16, would be invited to attend a training session at the Ragunan sports school to improve their regional and international achievements.

"We already have trained 10 young taekwon doins who are still at junior high school. We hope the young athletes will reach their peaks at the age of 21," he said.

"TI will set up training programs to prepare young athletes to compete in regional and international championships," Suharto, a two-star marine general who is also the inspector general at the defense and security ministry, said after opening the championships on Sunday.

Also attending the opening ceremony were president director of PT LG Elektronik Indonesia Kim In-ki and the South Korean ambassador for Indonesia.

273 taekwon doins from 26 provinces will compete in the three- day championships, which also serve as the pre-qualifying round for the 2000 National Games (PON) in Surabaya.

Suharto said TI had been preparing junior coaches to replace their seniors and the national team coach Oh Il-nam.

He said the coaches should be under 40 years old and have reached at least sixth or seventh dan (level of proficiency).

"It takes time. Oh will not be with us after he reaches forty. We are now grooming coaches to replace him," he said.

The first day of the championship featured five weight divisions: women's flyweight, women's feather weight, women's welter, men's light division and men's fin division.

The 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold-medalist Sinta Berliana Heru had no difficulties in overwhelming Nova Sahetapi of Maluku in the women's welter.

Sinta earned the only gold medal for Indonesia in the women's heavy weight in the Games in Brunei Darussalam.

In the men's light, Fadli Potu of West Java beat Jakartan taekwon doin Mario. While Susilowati of Yogyakarta defeated Regina Maya of Central Java in the final of the women's fly. (ivy)