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KONI dumps athletes from training camp over cutback

Following the government's decision last week not to fund the National Sports Council's (KONI) training of athletes competing in the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, some athletes at the training camps have been getting ready to go back to their sports associations

Agnes Winarti (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, May 1, 2009

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KONI dumps athletes from training camp over cutback

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ollowing the government's decision last week not to fund the National Sports Council's (KONI) training of athletes competing in the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, some athletes at the training camps have been getting ready to go back to their sports associations.

The traditional Indonesian martial art of pencak silat is one of the sports affected by the government's unpopular decision.

"KONI said it could only afford to finance eight of the 26 athletes currently training at the martial arts training camp in Sempaja, East Kalimantan," Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) chairman Bambang Rus Effendi said Thursday after a meeting at the KONI office.

Pencak silat contributed four gold medals for Indonesia at the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand.

KONI has also canceled the national championships in August to select athletes for the SEA Games.

"We will hold our own national selection for a fixed lineup of athletes," said pencak silat coach Indro Catur Haryono.

Pencak silat is not the only sport being scaled back. KONI can only cover the training costs of nine sepak takraw players - all men - from the initial 12 men and 12 women.

"We're responsible for covering the training expenses of the rest of the athletes," said Indonesian Sepak Takraw Association (PSTI) secretary-general Anjas Rivai.

KONI will accommodate 138 athletes from 14 sports at the training camp, from the initially planned 250 from 22 sports, with eight sports expected to be managed by the Top-tier Athletes Program (TAP) held by the sports ministry.

The TAP, for which Rp 100 billion has been allocated, has registered 84 athletes from eight sports.

"We are now prioritizing sports with the best medal prospects not included in the sports ministry's TAP," said KONI secretary-general Rosihan Arsyad.

KONI had budgeted Rp 120 billion for its sports program this year.

"Not a cent of the proposed budget was approved. We received the decision last week," Rosihan said.

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