AARM OVERSHADOWED BY NATIONAL SPORTS WEEK

Amid the hustle and bustle of the on-going 14th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet in West Java province, Indonesia is also holding a national sports week in its Sumatran province of South Sumatra.

The AARM is being held in the shooting range of the Infantry Division of the Indonesian Army Strategic Re-serve Command (Kostrad) in Ciloding, West Java, from September 1 to 8, while the National Sports Week (PON XVI) is being held in Palembang, South Sumatra from September 2 to 14.

In National Sports Week in Sumatra, the shooting event will start on Sunday, and thus, it averts the public attention from the AARM to the PON XVI. Five gold medals are at stake on the first say on Sun-day for the shooting competiton of the 16th National Sports Week (PON XVI), the 1 organizing committee.

Spokesman of PON XVI for shooting event, Bambang Suhedi said that the five events in the shooting branch that will be held on the first day on Sunday are men's air rifle match, women's air rifle match and individual sport pistol event.

Some 20 shooters from Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, West Java, South Sumatra, Bali and Aceh wil take part in the men's air rifle match. While the women's air rifle event will be attended by 15 shooters from Jakarta, Central Java, South Sumatra, West Java and Bali.

Ten athletes from Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Baliand Riau provinces will take part in the in the sport pistol event. Athletes at the PON XVI hoped that they would break a lot of national re-cords in the shooting events. Deputy Chairman of South Sumatra's branch of
The Indonesian Shooting Assocition (Perbakin), HM Arud said in Palembang on Saturday that his organization was able to break four national records last June meet. So this time, he expected to break more national records.

He said that the June meet, Sukarno of East Kalimantan was able to break the national record of 1,195.8 by setting the new one of 1,203.6 in the men's individual 3x40 m free rifle while Adri Maulan broke the national record of 676.3, setting the new record of 660.2 in the men's air rifle match.

In the men's free rifle prone event, Sahurun of Central Java broke the national record of 683.5 to set the new one at 686.6 while the other national record was in the women's sport rifle three position where Y Shilla of Central Java broke the national record of 637.6 to set the new one at 678.1.