Indonesia, Vietnam split team karate finals, but Malaysia
\ndominates medals<\/p>\n
KAJANG, Malaysia (AP): Vietnam grabbed three gold medals in
\nkarate Tuesday at the Southeast Asian Games, but host Malaysia
\nwon a final gold to come away with a total of nine and utterly
\ndominate the sport.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian victory went to Tiagu Ponniyah in the men's 80-
\nkilogram category, with a 9-7 edge over Thailand's Saner
\nJaritrum. Sudirman, an Indonesian who uses only one name, and
\nTran Hai Ha shared the bronzes.<\/p>\n
The ninth gold was one more than Malaysian officials had hoped
\nfor in the 19 karate events, and in the view of Mohamad Noor
\nNordin, first vice president of the Malaysian Karate Federation,
\nit was enough.<\/p>\n
\"It's bad for the sport if one team wins all the medals,\"
\nMohamad said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Vietnam came away with four golds each and
\ncontested both the men's and women's team finals Tuesday. The
\nVietnamese women and Indonesian men were victorious, and the
\nmedal tallies marked a big accomplishment for up-and-coming
\nVietnam and consolation for former powerhouse Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Pham Hung Ha, who won Vietnam's first gold ever in the under-
\n48 kilogram division Sunday, clinched the team victory in the
\nthird bout and was overcome with emotion, collapsing into the
\narms of her teammates and weeping as she was nearly carried from
\nthe arena. Malaysia and the Philippines split the bronzes.<\/p>\n
\"This is the very best day for Vietnam,\" said Vietnamese head
\ncoach Le Cong. \"I'm very proud of my girls. All my student were
\nvery brave. My heart is glad.\"<\/p>\n
Earlier, Vietnam captured the individual open categories, with
\nNguyen Thi Thu Tang triumphant for the women and Vu Quoc Huy for
\nthe men.<\/p>\n
For Indonesia, walking away with four golds was an improvement
\nfrom the two won in Brunei in 1999, but still a major comedown
\nfrom the 15 won in 1997 at home in Jakarta amid controversy over
\njudging.<\/p>\n
\"Before, we were number one,\" said Dr. H. Rahmat Shah, a
\nsenior team official. \"We've been slow because of the situation
\nin the country, but maybe we're on our way back now.\"<\/p>\n
Hasan Basri, 29, an Indonesian student who had four SEA Games
\ngolds under his belt before coming to Malaysia, mined gold in the
\nunder-65 kilograms category Monday and in the team competition
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Though he was one of the older competitors and competing in
\nhis sixth SEA Games, Hasan took heart from his double gold and
\nissued a warning: \"Maybe I'll be back for the next one.\"<\/p>\n
Sonny Simangunsong won a gold for Indonesia in the men's under
\n70-kilogram category Tuesday. Junel O. Perania of the Philippines
\ntook the silver, while Lee Yung Siang of Singapore and Muniandi
\nRajoo of Malaysia shared bronze.<\/p>\n
The Philippines won two karate golds Sunday.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-vietnam-split-team-karate-finals-but-malaysia-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }