Thailand walks off with men's team title<\/p>\n
By Ivy Susanti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Thailand's strength in depth enabled it to
\nretain its supremacy of the men's gymnastics yesterday when it
\nwalked of with the men's team event.<\/p>\n
Its convincing 206 points easily beat Indonesia's aggregate
\nscore of 194.25 in the six apparatus events.<\/p>\n
Malaysia came third by scoring 189.350.<\/p>\n
"I am very happy and I'm also proud of the team's
\nperformance," said Thailand's team coach Pompong Itthayophasakul.<\/p>\n
He said the Games served as a warmup for next year's Asian
\nGames and other international events, such as the Sydney Olympic
\nGames.<\/p>\n
The star of last night's competition was Amornthep Unchai, who
\nscored 52.250, which included the highest score on the rings.<\/p>\n
"I am very happy (about the result) and I want to win in every
\ncompetition, including in the next performance," Unchai said
\nafter the tenacious struggle against his main rival, Jonathan
\nMangiring Sianturi from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old Unchai performed with great confidence
\nthroughout despite being rudely booed by the Indonesian
\nsupporters who heckled him during each of his performances.<\/p>\n
He said he was confident of winning further gold today because
\nhe had trained very hard for more than a year for the Games.<\/p>\n
"I want to be number one," he declared.<\/p>\n
However, he said the victory was due to good cooperation and
\ncamaraderie among the whole team.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was very pleased about winning the silver after such
\na tough competition, considering the poor health of some of its
\nathletes.<\/p>\n
"The result is the same as two years ago, but I'm very proud
\nwith the high spirit of our athletes," said team manager Andi
\nDarussalam Tabusalla.<\/p>\n
He said four of the player had either just recovered from or
\nwere still nursing injuries.<\/p>\n
Jonathan said yesterday that he was not too upset by the
\nresult. "It's quite good," he said.<\/p>\n
Jonathan, a devout Christian said that he always prayed before
\neach of his performances. Like Unchai, he too expressed
\nconfidence that he could win today.<\/p>\n
"Nothing is impossible in this world. Winning is not an
\nimmediate decision. If God wants me to win, I'll win. I believe
\nthat I can do nothing without His (grace)," he said.<\/p>\n
He said that Thailand's main advantage was that its team had
\nno weak links.<\/p>",
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