REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's boxing legend Ellyas Pical is currently being treated at the Harapan Kita hospital after he suffered a heart attack. "Ellyas Pical has been taken to a hospital following a heart attack. I visited him in the hospital in Serpong, Tangerang," head of the Central Development of Sports Health, Technology and Science, Edi Nurinda, confirmed here on Friday.
He said Ellyas Pical was conscious and could still communicate when he visited him, though he was weak. As per information, Elly had complained even on Tuesday but was taken to the hospital in Serpong only two days later. He was immediately given treatment, he added. "On his family's initiative, Elly was shifted to Harapan Kita at around 13:00 hours," Edi Nurinda informed.
He hoped that as one of the best Indonesian athletes, he would receive the best treatment in the hospital and would recover soon. He assured that he was coordinating with all parties, including the Indonesia National Sports Committee (KONI), regarding Elly's condition. "We kept communicating with the doctors at KONI. Some of them even went to Harapan Kita. What is important is that Elly is being treated well," he pointed out.
Ellyas Pical, who hails from Saparua in the eastern region of Maluku, is an Indonesian boxer who won the IBF world champion title in the junior bantam weight category in 1985, beating Chun Ju-do from South Korea. The match, broadcast live, left people across the country stunned. He lost the title two years later to Thai boxer Khaosai Galaxy.