Yuana can expect a struggle in Olympics

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's best hope in the tae kwon do competition at the Olympic Games, Juana Wangsa Putri, will be severely tested by athletes from Chinese Taipei and the United States, her coach, South Korean Oh Il-nam, said on Tuesday.

"I heard that Taipei replaced one of their athletes with a better one and she might be tougher than Yoan (Juana's nickname). She must be aware of both taekwondoins, whom she has met in the Olympics qualifications in Croatia last year and the Asian Championships in the Philippines early this year," he said.

Oh said he hoped Yoan could earn a medal in the Sept. 15 to Oct. 1 event, where tae kwon do will be featured for the first time.

In preparation for the Olympics, Yoan, along with teammate Rahadewi Neta and men's taekwondoin Satrio Rahadani, has been taking part in a long-term training program in South Korea. They are training at Yung In University in Kyong Ki province.

"They are still taking part in physical fitness training, but the focus is on technical skills and strategy. As soon as I finish all my business here, I'll fly to Korea to join them," said Oh, adding that the training camp is located in an isolated mountainous region.

Oh said the United States, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, the Philippines and Vietnam would not substitute for those athletes which qualified for the Olympics.

He also expressed concern about Yoan's foot injury, which has nagged the athlete since the Olympic qualifications last year.

"I hope she can recover from the injury, which she got during her training prior to the National Games in Surabaya in June. She just recovered from a back injury and now she's nursing a foot injury."

Yoan was the country's only Olympic qualifier for the tae kwon do competition, but the Indonesian Taekwondo Association is also grooming Neta and Satrio, the 1998 Asian Games silver medalist, for future success.

Meanwhile, the association will host the first Indonesia Junior Open Taekwondo Championships at the Senayan Tennis Indoor Stadium from Wednesday to Saturday.

The chairman of the organizing committee, Andrian Lumowa, said on Tuesday besides the local participants, 174 athletes from South Korea also would take part in the tournament.

"There are four categories: the fight classes for the 14 to 17 age group and the 8 to 14 age group, and the kata class and technical demonstration events for the 8 to 14 age group.

"The winners of the tournament will represent the country in an international competition in November. The purpose of this event is to groom young talent and enable them to be prepared for future international events," he said.

Oh said the association would invite more countries to participate in the tournament next year.

"It's still a test for us as the host. Hopefully, more countries will compete here next year." (yan)