Karate heroes hope gold will inspire others<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan
\nThe Jakarta Post, Mandaue City, Cebu, the Philippines<\/p>\n
Fortune smiled on Nurahmi K.S., the hero of Sunday's women's
\nteam victory in kumite, who credited a positive attitude for
\nhelping her in an unexpected win.<\/p>\n
\"This gold is certainly a morale booster for me and other
\nathletes to win more golds for the country,\" said the young woman
\nfrom Makassar.<\/p>\n
Although Nurahmi was not considered one of the strongest
\nmembers of the team, she stepped up to provide a decisive 4-0
\nvictory in the final.<\/p>\n
Team coach Ardy Ganggas termed the gold a penglaris -- a term
\nused by trader's for an auspicious sale -- and bodes well for
\nfuture successes for the national contingent.<\/p>\n
\"I just fought with an optimistic attitude,\" said Nurahmi, who
\nis employed by a bank in her hometown of Makassar.<\/p>\n
Nurahmi will fight again in the women's individual kumite open
\nweight division on Tuesday. A second gold would be an ideal
\nbirthday present for her, as she turns 25 on the day.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Karate-do Federation (Forki) chairman Luhut
\nPandjaitan praised Nurahmi's enthusiasm during the bouts.<\/p>\n
\"I am very pleased with the performance of our athletes. Even
\nathletes that we actually do not expect to win, like Nurahmi and
\nDonny Dharmawan, performed brilliantly today and had decisive
\nvictories,\" Luhut said.<\/p>\n
Nurahmi win looked to inspire men's karateka Donny, who also
\nposted a 7-2 defeat of Malaysian Jervis Anak Julian, thus
\nensuring the second gold for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"I think that overcame Malaysia in the final because we had a
\nvery good strategy and good technique,\" Donny said.<\/p>\n
\"I had to make the first point before my opponent, and that's
\nwhat I did. This make my job easier as I could wait for the
\nMalaysian attack before making a rapid counterattack.\"<\/p>\n
Donny, 21, still expects to win one gold in
\nindividual kumite in the 60 kilogram division on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"That is my personal target,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fellow karatekas Jeanny Zeannet, a two-time silver medalist in
\nthe SEA Games in 2001 and 2003, and Telly Melinda were also
\nhopeful the gold would lead to many more.\"<\/p>\n
\"We won the gold today, which is my first gold in the SEA
\nGames, and I hope I could win more,\" said Jeanny.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/karate-heroes-hope-gold-will-inspire-others-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}