RI ousted from bridge meet semis<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's struggle to elbow its way into the
\nsemifinal of the Bermuda Bowl men's team world bridge
\nchampionship in Beijing ended in defeat on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was finally edged out of the competition 223-181 by
\nUSA-2, after managing to take a 158-143 lead during the early
\nsessions. The same fate befell China, which was beaten 193-196 by
\nFrance, as well as defending champion the Netherlands, which fell
\n227-182 to Sweden.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, there was a good chance of winning but our second
\npair was not able to cover our exhaustion,\" said Hengky Lasut,
\none half of Indonesia's number one pair, with Eddy Manoppo. He
\nwas referring to Danny Sacul and Franky Karwur, whom many regard
\nas the country's second strongest pair.<\/p>\n
Hengky and Eddy are a veteran pair whom Indonesia relies on
\nheavily. In one match they were replaced by a more junior pair to
\nenable them take a rest, but the result was disappointing.<\/p>\n
After that, non-playing captain Yasin Wijaya decided to field
\nthem every day. That decision forced them to play seven hours a
\nday against their competitors, a task which finally wore them
\nout.<\/p>\n
Before the third session on Saturday, Indonesia had taken a
\n158-143 lead over USA-1, which was spearheaded by Jeff Meckstroth
\nand Eric Rodwell. But in the last three sessions, the most senior
\nIndonesian pairs could no longer avoid burn-out and the law of
\ndiminishing returns began to come into play.<\/p>\n
In the fourth session, it suffered a 29-44 loss. A bigger
\nloss, of 14-30, followed. Finally, in the sixth and closing
\nsession, Indonesia was down 9-50.<\/p>\n
In yesterday's semifinals, USA-2 was to take on Canada, which
\nbeat South Africa 276-190, while France was to challenge Sweden.<\/p>\n
As for the Venice Cup women's team world bridge championship,
\nheld simultaneously in Beijing, the four semifinalists are host
\nChina, which beat Venezuela 243-83; USA-2, after a 274-216 win
\nover USA-1; France, which notched a 229-126 win over South
\nAfrica; and Germany, which defeated Japan 229-194. (arf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-ousted-from-bridge-meet-semis-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}