‘American’ Tony plays for East Java at Games
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda
The inclusion of American shuttler Tony Gunawan in East Java’s team currently competing at the National Games has received criticism among national players, who argue the games should serve as a recruiting ground for home-grown talent.
At the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Tony, pairing with Candra Wijaya, gave Indonesia their only gold medal at the games.
“I suggest you ask Pa Yacob (Rusdianto),” Budi Nugroho, from the Jakarta team, said. “In the future we have to limit the age of participants to 23 to adhere to the Olympics body recommendation,” Herman Subarja said.
Yacob is the chairman of the East Java badminton chapter and technical delegate member as well as chief of organizational affairs for the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).
“Tony may play for America but he still holds an East Java residence card. He did not change citizenship. His status is only that of a permanent resident. He is Indonesian by citizenship,” he said.
Also on Sunday, in Berau, the host’s sailing team mourned the loss of two relatives of a team member who died in a boating accident on their way to Derawan Island.
Local reports said Sunday the two were among 20 passengers on board the boat when it was hit by a storm. The remaining passengers were reported rescued.
An employee of television station TVOne said his crew, who were reporting on the games, had suffered a theft, in which a laptop and eight cellular phones were stolen from their rented home. The media workers were forced to rent the house because hotels in the area were fully booked.
On Sunday, aerosports, basketball, chess and rock-climbing joined the sports that had kicked off during the opening ceremony.
On Sunday, gymnasts prepared for their Monday floor and bars events, while shuttlers practiced at the badminton hall in Palaran. The practice sections were watched by a small number of locals.
So far in the Games, only four of 749 gold medals have been awarded from 43 sports.
The four gold medals all came in the chess competition, with West Java winning three and East Kalimantan taking the fourth.
The chess competition in Tarakan offers 12 gold medals in total. Four each are at stake in the classic and blitz events.
The rock-climbing qualification rounds for the men’s team lead event and the women’s team boulder event were also wrapped up.
East Java, the favorite in both events, left Central Java and East Kalimantan in provisional second and third in the women’s event.
East Java also topped the men’s event, with West Java and Bali coming in second and third, respectively.
The group-stage basketball matches were completed on Sunday with Papua and West Java from Group X and East Kalimantan, Central Java from Group Y advancing to the semifinals in the women’s division.
In the men’s, Jakarta and Central Java progressed from Group B, while West Java, Aceh and East Kalimantan progressed from their groups to reach the semi-finals. East Java secured its place in the semis on Saturday.
East Java men’s and Jakarta women’s teams looked unstoppable in their campaigns to defend their indoor volleyball championship titles, both winning their two opening matches in Bontang.
Source: The Jakarta Post
Add comment July 8th, 2008