Thailand and Indonesia dominate the pool<\/p>\n
By I. Christianto and Sylvia Gratia Miranda<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Traditional swim rivals Indonesia and Thailand
\nare vying for top honors in the pool, with the hosts netting two
\nof the seven golds on offer yesterday and Thailand three.<\/p>\n
Indonesia won the 4 x 100 meter men's freestyle relay with a
\nnew Games record of 3:28.66, breaking its own 3:30.66 from 1993.<\/p>\n
Chaterine Surya won the women's 100 meters butterfly (1:02.40)
\nfor the second gold.<\/p>\n
\"I am very happy with this win because I am not specialized in
\nthis event,\" she said. \"I am also grateful as I bettered the
\n1:03.60 I set in Australia last April.\"<\/p>\n
It was also an early birthday present as she turns 17 today.<\/p>\n
Thailand's three gold medalists yesterday were Torlarp
\nSethisothorn in the men's 400 meters freestyle (3:58.63),
\nChonlathorn Vorathamrong in the women's 100 meters backstroke
\n(1:05.78) and Ravee Intporn-Udom in the women's 800 meters
\nfreestyle in a Games record of 8:56.88.<\/p>\n
Raymond Papa of the Philippines celebrated his 21st birthday
\nyesterday by winning gold in the men's 100 meters backstroke.
\nMalaysia's Anthony Ang took gold in the men's 100 meters
\nbutterfly in 55.64.<\/p>\n
In women's 100 meters backstroke, Silvy Triana of Indonesia
\nwas second behind Varathamrong in 1:06.06, and Kathy Echiverri of
\nthe Philippines touched in for bronze with 1:06.58..<\/p>\n
Thai's Praphalsai Minpraphal was silver medalist in the 100
\nmeters butterfly with 1:03.30, just pipping 1:03.33.<\/p>\n
Albert C. Sutanto of Indonesia won the bronze medal in men's
\n100 meters butterfly.<\/p>\n
Malaysia took the silver in the men's relay and Singapore the
\nbronze. Thailand, which finished second, was disqualified
\nbecause its second swimmer jumped before the first had touched
\nthe wall.<\/p>\n
Earlier on the day, the host water polo team won the silver,
\nits first medal in the event in 10 years.<\/p>\n
Indonesia beat Thailand 8-5 to finish behind Singapore and
\nahead of the Philippines in the round-robin competition. Local
\ntop scorer was Lazuardi M. Ardhy with three goals.<\/p>\n
Indonesian swimming team manager Anangga Rusdiono said the
\nmedal was unexpected as most of the team were still juniors, and
\ntraining had only begun in March of this year, a full five months
\nafter other national sports teams.<\/p>\n
\"But anything is possible in sport, just like our winning
\ntoday,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Swimming Federation hired Rumanian Paul
\nNiculescu in July to assist in training. The squad had previously
\nbeen under local trainer Boyke.<\/p>\n
Singapore maintained its regional dominance of the sport with
\na convincing 16-6 win over the Philippines.<\/p>\n
In a remarkable run, the island state has won every gold in
\nthe Games since 1965.<\/p>\n
Singapore coach Ye Oon Tat said he was relieved his team could
\ncontinue its supremacy in the event.<\/p>\n
\"Frankly, we were not expecting gold because other countries
\nhave sent their athletes for overseas training, and we thought it
\nwould be a very hard fight.\"<\/p>\n
In women's platform diving, Thailand's teenage star Tammaros
\nSukrutai earned 465.48 points in four dives for gold, followed by
\nIndonesia's Shenny Ratna Amalia with 462.27 points.<\/p>\n
Nani Suryani of Indonesia was third with 441.93 points.<\/p>\n
Tammaros, 15 and tipped for the Asian Games next year, won her
\nfirst gold in the 3-meter springboard on Monday.<\/p>",
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