Koko eyes Asiad gold with new partner

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 05/07/2006 11:15 AM

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

At the last Asian Games in 2002 in Busan, South Korea, Koko Prasetyo worked together with Agus Salim to give Indonesia a silver medal in the men's beach volleyball event. Now he is looking forward to converting it to glittering gold with new partner Andy Ardiansyah.

The two teamed up in January and have already demonstrated their potential, winning two series in the Asia Pacific Tour in Iran in March. However, with strong teams a certain feature at Qatar, the venue of the Asian Games in December, Koko sees his aim as a mountainous task.

""We will try hard to win a gold, or at least we can maintain what we achieved in Busan,"" Koko told The Jakarta Post at the ongoing LA Menthol Beach Volleyball tournament at Kuta beach.

The Bali tournament is the fifth in the Asia pacific Tour after two series each in Iran and Thailand.

In Thailand, Koko and Andy failed to present a winning form but the team returned home with something probably beneficial for their Qatar trip. Koko tipped Aleksander Dyachewko and Alexey Kulinich, former Ukraine nationalities who are now playing for Kazakhstan, as strong contenders, along with teams from Japan and China.

""We beat the Kazakhs twice in straight games in Iran. But they had their revenge in Thailand,"" Koko said. He added the Kazakhs's success in breaking into the main draw of the World Tour several times, a result that still eludes Indonesian players, was a testament to their potential for victory in Doha.

Like many beach volleyball players, Koko played the indoor form of the sport before switching to outdoor volleyball.

When he tried beach volleyball for the first he and his partner managed to reach the finals in a junior competition. He was recruited to the national team the following year and began to score victories with Agus Salim.

After winning the silver in Asian Games, they added a gold and silver from two-back-to back Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. At last year's SEA Games in the Philippines, they lost to Andy, then pairing with Supriadi, in an all-Indonesia final.

The Indonesian squad, with members now changing partners, has carried out a training regime at the Petitenget beach in Bali along with its junior team of Suratna and Agung Santoso.

The top two teams will play at international tournaments including the Shanghai event, which will open the 15-series World Tour.

The Asia Pacific Tour would have been an ideal tryout to monitor future Asia Games rivals, but Japan and China opted not to send their strong teams to the tournament.

""The Chinese team coming to Bali is very likely not a part of the country's main squad,"" he said, referring to Zheng Hong Yong and Liu Wei. ""I'm pretty sure I know which Chinese players we have to beat. Like Japan, China has many strong players,"" said the 25-year-old from Yogyakarta.

Despite their absence, Koko said he was already well informed about their strength. ""Our skills are generally on par. It leaves it up to who has the mental shape of a champion,"" he said.

Koko is certainly looking to form that winning shape with Andy.

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