Ami Afriatni | November 10, 2010
I Gusti Made Oka Sulaksana feels his sport’s governing body has damaged his Asiad medal hopes. I Gusti Made Oka Sulaksana feels his sport’s governing body has damaged his Asiad medal hopes.
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I Gusti Made Oka Sulaksana was a good bet to give Indonesia gold in this month’s Asian Games. That is, until the champion windsurfer went through what he described as “the worst kind of preparation” of his career.
No tune-up tournaments, delayed arrival of equipment and a schedule thrown into disorder have left Oka fuming at the Indonesian Sailing Federation (Porlasi) and cast serious doubt over his chances of a second Asian Games gold.
Adding to Oka’s headaches was the Indonesian Olympic Committee’s (KOI) announcement on Wednesday that Oka was one of 30 athletes who have yet to receive their credentials from the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee.
Djoko Pramono, a KOI official, said the committee had been in touch with the organizers to settle the matter.
“This could be a major problem, because the credentials are not only for identification purposes at the venue but they serve as visas for entry to China,” Djoko said.
“The Games organizers told us to just send the athletes to Guangzhou and they’ll deal with the matter there. But how can they get past immigration if they don’t have a visa?”
Djoko said KOI had sent a list of 212 athletes and 129 officials to Gagoc on Sept. 30, a good month before the deadline.
Some of the 30 athletes without credentials are considered potential medal winners, including Oka.
The 39-year-old had wanted to retire after the 2008 Asian Beach Games, but Porlasi asked him to consider representing Indonesia one more time in the Guangzhou Asiad.
Oka has never disappointed in international competitions. His trophy case includes four gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games and the gold in the 2002 Asian Games in Korea. In the Qatar Asiad in 2006, he took bronze.
After agreeing to Porlasi’s request in February, Oka had expressed optimism about his chances in China, going so far as to say he “must deliver gold.”
Eight months later, however, he is frustrated.
“I can say my preparation has been awful,” he said on Tuesday. “I haven’t competed in any type of tryout since February for unclear reasons. I was also supposed to join events in Europe and Thailand, but nothing happened there either.”
Another problem that arose was the late arrival of his windsurfing board.
“I just received the new one two weeks ago, while the others got theirs in April,” he said.
“Two weeks is not enough to get accustomed to a new board. The sail is stiffer and the board is narrower.”
All the delays have pushed back Oka’s schedule and he said he was now forced to make hasty preparations.
“The biggest problem is I don’t have enough time to adapt to the venue because I’m now set to leave on November 12 and the competition will start on November 13.”
“This is the worst preparation I have ever had. They better not send me because this is the Asian Games. I am going there to win, not to take a vacation.”
Other gold-medal contenders yet to receive their credentials include dragon-boat rowers Abdul Azis, Cici Pramita and Raudani Fitria; karatekas Faizal Zainuddin, Donny Dharmawan and Jintar Simanjuntak; and women’s cyclist Santia Tri Kusuma.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/sports/wind-not-blowing-okas-way-in-his-hunt-for-repeat-gold/405984
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