Unstoppable Umar saves the day again<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Mandaue City, Cebu<\/p>\n
It came down to the last bout, and once again Umar Syarief
\ncould be relied upon to save the day for the national karate
\nteam.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Surabayan defended his crown in the open
\nweight division on Tuesday to bring the country its fifth gold,
\nreaching its Games target and becoming the overall champion in
\nthe sport.<\/p>\n
Umar, a SEA Games stalwart since he won his first gold in 1997
\nin Jakarta, also contributed a gold in the individual kumite 75
\nkg class on Monday, and was part of the men's kumite team victory
\non Sunday.<\/p>\n
Other golds for Indonesia were contributed by Christo Mondolu
\nin the men's under 75 kg on Monday, and the women's kumite team.
\nThe team won four golds in Vietnam in 2003 to finish second
\noverall.<\/p>\n
With an additional five silver and four bronze, the national
\nsquad traded places with 2003 champion Vietnam; its team placed
\nsecond with five gold, three silver and nine bronze, followed by
\nMalaysia with four gold, seven silver and four bronze.<\/p>\n
The host team was fourth with three gold and nine bronze while
\nThailand was fifth with one gold, one silver and four bronzes.<\/p>\n
\"My job is complete now,\" a smiling Umar said after overcoming
\nVietnamese Nguyen Ngoc Thanh 1-0 in extra time.<\/p>\n
Everything was riding on him to win after five teammates lost
\nin earlier bouts. Both men were engaged in a game of wait-and-see
\nat the beginning, and hesitant to go on the offensive.<\/p>\n
With 15 seconds left in regular time, Umar surprised his
\nopponent with a punch to the stomach to take a 1-0 lead. However,
\nNguyen immediately struck back with a blow to the face to level.<\/p>\n
In extra time, Umar came through with another punch to the
\nstomach for the crucial victory.<\/p>\n
The team celebrated by gathering in the center of the arena to
\ndo the North Sulawesi poco-poco jig to the strains of the Games
\ntheme song Pinoy Ako (I am a Filipino), with spectators standing
\nto cheer them on.<\/p>\n
National team manager Madju Dharyanto seemed to have forgotten
\nhis earlier disappointment about a referee's decision against
\nDonny Dharmawan in the men's 60 kg class.<\/p>\n
\"I am proud of this team. We proved ourselves instead of
\nmaking empty promises,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Chef de mission Djoko Pramono said he counted on the karatekas
\nto reach the target.<\/p>\n
\"We pushed karate to train very hard because we knew the sport
\nhad great potential to deliver many golds for us. It worked.\"<\/p>",
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