Indonesia Withdraws HOCKEY XI HAS WIN BY DEFAULT

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30568, 10 October 1964, Page 13

Indonesia Withdraws HOCKEY XI HAS WIN BY DEFAULT

(N2. Press Association—Copyright) TOKYO, October 9. The Indonesian Sports Minister, Mr R. Maladi, announced today his entire 134member Olympic team would boycott the 18th Olympiad in Tokyo because 20 of its athletes had been ruled ineligible to compete. He said the team would leave Tokyo “in the next few days.”

Mr Maladi’s decision will mean that the New Zealand hockey team has won its first match by default. The New Zealanders were due to play Indonesia in a preliminary round on Sunday. Mr Maladi said President Sukarno was expected to visit Japan during the Olympic Games, which begin tomorrow, apparently in spite of the team's decision to withdraw from the Games. Dr. Sukarno is coming to Tokyo, Mr Maladi said, “purely to promote good will between Indonesia and Japan.”

Indonesia’s withdrawal reduces to 95 the number of nations represented at the biggest-ever Olympic Games. North Korea withdrew yesterday because 10 of its athletes were barred for the same reason—participation in the Games of the New Emerging Forces last year. Ecuador will not be represented as a result of a feud within its national Olympic Games organising committee. North Korean officials said their team would leave Tokyo

tonight for the port city of Niigata to board a Russian ship expected there on Saturday. Mr Maladi had warned yesterday an Indonesian walkout would have “far-reaching consequences in international relations and international sports activities.” Mr Ichiro Kono, Japan’s State Minister for the Olympics, said Japan would do nothing further on the Indonesian issue.

“There is nothing more that can be done,” he said.