JAKARTA, May 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The
Indonesian aquatic sport authority has turned to China in an
effort to improve the performance of its divers ahead of the
upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, The Jakarta Post
reported Tuesday.
"China's (aquatic sport body) has
informed us of the coach's name: Zhang Gyun. He will arrive
here in August," Harly Ramayani, coach of the national team,
was quoted as saying.
Eleven of its 12 divers,
including Shenny Ratna Amelia, the gold medalist in the 10m
platform at the 1999 SEA Games in Brunei Darussalam, were
practicing.
Harly admitted she was not
familiar with Zhang, but said she was confident about the
coach's abilities not only because China was the powerhouse
of the diving world, but also because Zhang was recommended
by former national coach Zhong Shaozhen.
Zhong coached the Indonesian team
from 1995 to 1997, during which Harly was the assistant
coach. Harly said Zhong now was the Chinese national coach.
"I trust Zhong. She did a good
job during our two-year partnership," Harly said.
In regards to Zhang's upcoming
task, Harly said, "The divers have shown significant
improvement since our training started early March, but I
want them to be at their best.
"We expect Zhang to polish the
divers' abilities. They still have to work on their entry
into the pool."
An eight-strong squad is expected
to be named at the end of June, after which the squad will
have three overseas outings: the 10th FINA World Swimming
Championship in Barcelona in July; the 22nd Universiade in
Daegu, South Korea; and the Asian Age Group Championships in
Macau, China in August.
The SEA Games will be held in
Vietnam in December, where the Indonesian diving team will
be pinning its medal hopes on Shenny while looking for
another from the remaining squad members.
"We will not preoccupy ourselves
with a target. We prefer to talk about prospects -- Shenny
remains our best prospect. We hope she will take her 1999
winning run to Vietnam.
"We also have realistic hopes for
another gold medal, either inthe men's event or the women's
synchronized event," Harly said, adding that Malaysia and
Thailand should be tough rivals at the SEA Games.
Indonesia's diving team hopefuls
are: Rohmat, Ahmad Sukron Jamjani, Dennis Harimurti, Husaini
Noor, M. Nasrullah and Sidik Agus for the men's team; Shenny
Ratna Amelia, Sari Ambarwati, Herliani Dias, Treviani Dias,
Dwi Lidia Sari and Della Dina Sari for the women's team.
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