Putty planning an ambitious year

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 01/06/2007 2:40 PM

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's 2006 Asian Games silver medalist Putty Armein expects further success, especially since bowling has been getting more attention from the government and the National Sports Council (KONI) over the past two years.

The top national female bowler hopes to win in three tournaments of the Asian Bowling Federation Grand Slam, starting Jan. 13 with the Tournament of Champions in Ancol, North Jakarta, followed by the Malaysian International Open in March and the World Women's Championship in Mexico in August.

""Winning at those tournaments is my target to achieve in the first half of the year, before trying to retain the gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games at the end of the year,"" Putty said Friday, adding that she feels she has a good chance at those events.

She said the national team might hold a training session in London for two months starting in February. The overseas stint would give team members a chance to show their potential against their English counterparts.

Putty downplayed her ambitious plans for the year, saying she gets full support from the State Ministry for Youth and Sports Affairs and KONI.

Both institutions started to move bowling up on their lists after the national bowlers won three golds at the 2005 SEA Games in the Philippines and a gold and a silver at the Asian Games.

""The relevant sports authorities have started to visit our practice sessions more often now. They also support our program because we have proven that we can do something for this country,"" Putty said.

Bowling rose from zero to hero after the Indonesian Bowling Association (PBI) hired top coach Sid Allen of Canada in 2005.

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