Umar keeps the faith for winning form<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Mandaue City, Cebu, the Philippines<\/p>\n
Umar Syarief, who bagged his second gold medal of the 23rd
\nSoutheast Asian Games on Monday, has a tried and trusted friend
\naccompanying him.<\/p>\n
While other athletes tote mascots onto the podium, the karate
\nstar brought along his Koran.<\/p>\n
\"I always have a Koran at my side when I compete. From my
\nfirst participation in the 1997 SEA Games, I have brought along
\nthe Koran because I believe God will give me the strength to
\nwin,\" he said after his dramatic victory in the men's individual
\nkumite 75 kg class.<\/p>\n
He credited his faith for helping him in his down-to-the-wire
\n7-6 triumph over Malaysian Jarvis Anak Julian.<\/p>\n
Umar said an old right knee injury flared up in the final, but
\nthe pain went away after he prayed to himself.<\/p>\n
The Games in Cebu -- where most of the martial arts events are
\nbeing held -- are not over yet for Umar, who was also part of the
\nkumite team that contributed a gold by overcoming Malaysia on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
\"Well, I have one more task, to defend my gold in the open
\nweight division,\" he said. \"I hope God will give me the strength
\nto win.\"<\/p>\n
Since the 1997 Games in Jakarta, Umar has been counted upon to
\ncollect medals in the regional sporting event. He won gold that
\nyear, followed by a silver two years later and a bronze at the
\n2001 Games in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
After a slump, he bounced back at the 2003 Games by taking the
\nopen class event. The same year, he also won the Asian Karate
\nFederation championships.<\/p>\n
Although the karate team's showing in international events was
\nmediocre this year, Umar was a standout, becoming the first
\nIndonesian to win the European Master Cup this year. He finished
\nsixth in the World Cup and also competed in the World Games, the
\ninternational event held for non-Olympic sports.<\/p>\n
National team manager Madju Dharyanto said Umar's never-say-
\ndie attitude should be followed by others.<\/p>\n
\"He looked very tired, but he has a champion's mentality. Umar
\nwas never down although his opponent got points after the referee
\npenalized him,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"This is something that must be followed by his juniors.\"<\/p>\n
Umar, who is employed by the mayor's office in his hometown of
\nSurabaya, is married to former top Malaysian karateka Ai Lee.<\/p>\n
With Ai based in Switzerland, Umar is considering making his
\ntraining base in Europe.<\/p>\n
\"Perhaps I will prefer to train in Germany, because we know
\npeople there after our recent training session there. And
\ntraining there will be very beneficial in allowing me to compete
\nin tournaments more often.\"<\/p>\n
Umar still has another goal to achieve before he retires.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't compete in the Busan Asian Games in 2002 because I
\nwas going through a bad period at the time,\" he said. \"But now I
\nwant to complete my titles with an Asian Games gold medal.\"<\/p>",
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