Thailand retains gymnastic crown<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Sweeping all the four gold medals on offer in
\nthe rhythmic competitions yesterday, tallying its medals to 12
\ngolds, six silvers and four bronzes, Thailand won the overall
\ntitle of the second Southeast Asian Junior Gymnastics
\nChampionships.<\/p>\n
Yet the last day of the one-week meet was marred by a fierce
\nprotest from Thailand's Bulgarian coach B.B. Ignatova who accused
\nthe judges of unfair scoring and threatened to pull out of the
\nchampionships.<\/p>\n
\"Disgusting! Indonesian gymnasts made many mistakes yet they
\nalways got high scores,\" Ignatova blasted, complaining that the
\njudges always underscored her gymnasts.<\/p>\n
Ignatova said it was unfair that Aunchana Yeaksukon was given
\nonly 7.630 for her routine with the ball despite the high
\ntechniques she demonstrated.<\/p>\n
\"Aunchana was very upset and cried. That's why she lost her
\nconcentration during the next routine with the clubs and dropped
\nthe clubs,\" said Ignatova emotionally.<\/p>\n
Ignatova said that as a rule, the range of scoring difference
\nshould not exceed 0.3 but the judges scored 7.630 with a
\ndifference of 0.6. Ignatova claimed that although her gymnasts
\nperformances were not free of mistakes, they showed a much higher
\nlevel of difficulty compared to the Indonesian gymnasts who
\nperformed fundamental routines only.<\/p>\n
\"This is an open competition. People are free to see for
\nthemselves any mistakes our gymnasts made. It would be crazy for
\nus to let them win if they do not deserve it,\" said Andi
\nDarusalam Tabusala chairman of the organizing committee.<\/p>\n
Wice Sampoerna, the mother of national gymnast Wini Sari, told
\nThe Jakarta Post there was some truth to what Ignatova said. \"But
\nas a coach, she has no right to protest. If Thailand wanted to
\nprotest it should be through its head of delegation,\" Wice said.<\/p>\n
\"If Thailand was holding this meet, would there be a guarantee
\nthat they would score fairly? At the previous Southeast Asian
\nGames my daughter Wini was given a score lower than what she
\ndeserved but I was silent,\" Wice said.<\/p>\n
In response to Ignatova's protest, the heads of each
\nparticipating country held a meeting. Aunchana's score was
\nrevised to 7.820 but that meant very little as she remained
\nbehind Indonesia's Nita Mardiana who scored 7.90.<\/p>\n
After the meeting, Khaw Chou Ean, who headed the judges,
\nacknowledged that the judges made an error. \"But it was only a
\nmistake in calculating the scores, not in scoring itself,\" she
\nsaid. (arf)<\/p>\n
Medal tally<\/p>\n
G S B
\n Thailand 12 6 4
\n Indonesia 5 5 6
\n Malaysia 2 1 2
\n Vietnam 1 - -
\n Philippine - 2 2
\n Myanmar - - -
\n Singapore - - -<\/p>",
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