While many professional athletes struggle to find their way into the limelight at international multi-event sporting competitions, such as the Guangzhou Asian Games, teams of fantastic amateur boat racers are now unable to avoid publicity. Civil servants, police officers, soldiers, nurses, firemen, fishermen, housewives, teachers and students have all joined the colorful Asian Games dragon boat race competition, which made its Asiad debut last Tuesday.

Indonesian policeman Silo said he has had no difficulties joining the national team because his superiors were supportive and granted him training leave.

"If there is no training camp, I am a police officer as usual, and there is no special treatment for me," said the 25-year-old first brigadier officer who works as a training instructor in Central Kalimantan. "But I'm very grateful because my superiors support me, and they will have no objection if there is a call for me from the National Sports Council."

For Silo, dragon boat racing has the same principles as police work. "Its like a police brigade, one for all and all for one," he said.

The Indonesian men's team consists of policemen, a marine, several civil servants and university students. Sixteen of the 22-strong squad are new, while the rest are members of the previous team that competed at several Southeast Asian Games and the Bali Asian Beach Games.

Silo's teammate, civil servant Didin Rusdiana, said he discovered dragon boat racing by accident when university students from Jakarta came to train in his hometown, near Bandung, a few years back.

He hopes his dragon boat racing efforts will help the new Asian Games sport gain global exposure as it chases a berth in the Olympics.

- The Jakarta Post