RI bags two silvers and one bronze in karate<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (JP): Lady luck shone on Indonesia on Wednesday when
\nthe women's team took two silvers and one bronze in the 13th
\nAsian Games karate competition at the Thammasat University sports
\ncomplex.<\/p>\n
Omita Olga Ompi took the first silver for Indonesia in the
\nindividual kata martial art demonstration event. She scored just
\none point less than world championship runner-up Atsuko Wakai of
\nJapan, who collected 42.9 points to take the gold.<\/p>\n
It was Omita's second silver in as many Asian Games.<\/p>\n
The second silver medal of the day came from Sandra Ariyani in
\nthe 53 kilogram division. Sandra was outclassed 6-1 by world
\nchampion Fujioka Eri of Japan in the final.<\/p>\n
\"Eri was quicker and more aggressive than Sandra,\" national
\ncoach Willem Mantiri said.<\/p>\n
Sandra admitted that she was a class below her opponent. \"That
\nwas the first time I have met her. I had no idea how to
\nneutralize her attacks,\" said Sandra, who will celebrate her 27th
\nbirthday on Dec. 28.<\/p>\n
Controversial refereeing again cost Indonesia the chance of
\nanother gold medal when Nilawati Daud lost to eventual champion
\nLee Wan Yu of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.<\/p>\n
Nilawati had her commanding 2-0 lead canceled out after she
\nreceived two warnings for stepping over the touchline in the 60-
\nkilogram division duel. The karatekas were tied at 2-2 after
\nnormal time.<\/p>\n
Nilwati landed an obviously clean punch on Lee's breast during
\nthe extra time, but one of the judges, Van Vin Dong of Vietnam,
\nraised a red flag to indicate that the punch was illegal. The
\nother two judges abstained, but referee Ang Lae Hong of Malaysia
\ndecided to award Lee the victory.<\/p>\n
Lee did not make any serious attacks, but defended strongly
\nthroughout the fight.<\/p>\n
An Indonesian referee expressed his disappointment with Ang's
\ncontroversial decision.<\/p>\n
\"He has never been fair to Indonesian karatekas. To speak
\nfrankly, Nila deserved the gold medal because she landed a legal
\npunch. By contrast, Lee only managed to parry and did not launch
\nany attacks,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's deputy chef de mission Subardi Suar, who watched
\nthe match, refused to file an appeal.<\/p>\n
Nilawati agreed with Subardi, but was obviously very
\ndisappointed with the result. \"I tried my best, but the referee
\nruled against me. I must accept it,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She had to be content with a bronze, meaning that she missed
\nout on the target of winning gold which was set for her by the
\nNational Sports Council.<\/p>\n
Kazakhstan's Natalya Solodilova also fell victim to
\nquestionable refereeing during her surprise quarterfinal loss to
\nMalaysian Premila Subramaniam.<\/p>\n
Solodilova, who is the reining Asian champion in the over-60
\nkilogram division, had three strikes declared invalid by the
\nreferee. Kazakhstan officials protested, but to no avail. (yan)<\/p>",
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