Indonesia performs well in world bridge tourney<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Failure need not always go hand in hand with
\nshame. A loss, especially to a much stronger rival, can even
\nevoke a feeling of pride.<\/p>\n
"We are proud of our team even though it failed to go to the
\nsemifinals of the Bermuda Bowl men's team world bridge
\nchampionship in Beijing, China," said Wiranto, chairman of the
\nIndonesian Bridge Association (Gabsi).<\/p>\n
Wiranto's pride is based on the fact that, after taking part
\nin the championship on eight consecutive occasions, this year was
\nthe first time Indonesia managed to get into the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team, spearheaded by veteran pair Hengky Lasut
\nand Eddy Manoppo, fell to favorite USA-2 by 117-216 International
\nMatch Points in the championship's quarterfinals last week.<\/p>\n
"The loss came as no surprise to us," Hengky Lasut added.<\/p>\n
USA-2 is a solid team consisting of world-class players with
\nrelatively equal skills, such as Bob Hamman and Bobby Wolf, Eric
\nRodwell and Jeff Meckstroth, and Richard Freeman and Nick
\nMichell.<\/p>\n
Based on Master Points, Bob Hamman tops the ranking list of
\nthe world's bridge players with 5,318, followed by Eric Rodwell
\nwith 4,540. Bobby Wolf, with 4,293, and Jeff Meckstroth, with
\n4,110, rank world third and fourth respectively.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team, on the other hand, consisted of players
\nwith unmatched abilities. In descending order, the team was
\ncomprised of the country's most senior pair of Hengky and Eddy,
\njunior pair, Denny Sakul and Franky Karwur and still more junior
\npair of Santje Panelewen and Giovani Watulingas.<\/p>\n
Despite the marked difference in skills between the two teams,
\nuntil the third session of the 16-board sixth session, the
\nIndonesian team managed to reach a 129-99 lead over USA-2.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team came out as the loser in the end because
\nit lacks experience in competing at the international level and
\nbecause Hengky and Eddy, who played eight hours each day from
\nOct. 8 to Oct. 16, were exhausted and the skills of their juniors
\nwere not enough to support them.<\/p>\n
Welcoming home the team, which arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta
\nairport on Friday, Wiranto attributed their good showing to their
\none-year intensive training stint under the tutelage of Canadian
\nworld-class coach Eric Kokish. (arf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-performs-well-in-world-bridge-tourney-1447893297",
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