bridge team confident it can break jinx against big names
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian bridge team will head for the Bermuda Bowl in Paris full of confidence, with the players having put the "high play" jinx behind them following an upset victory in Lausanne, an official of the country's bridge association (Gabsi) has said.
"We turned out to be able to break the jinx when we were up against top teams," Bertje Polii, Gabsi's deputy secretary general told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.
Bertje was referring to Indonesia's domination at the 2000 IOC Grand Prix in Lausanne, where the pairing of Henky Lasut/Eddy Manoppo and Franky Karwur/Danny Sacul claimed the big scalps of the United States and Italian teams en route to their victory.
Indonesia, currently ranked fourth in the world, has won several international trophies including the silver medal at the 1996 Olympiad in Rhodes, Greece.
The main concern now facing the country's bridge fraternity is the failure of any Indonesian team to finish higher at a world championships than the fifth place secured at the 2000 Bermuda Bowl, held on the island of Bermuda.
Another cause for concern, which has apparently sent GABSI's officials into a flap, is the fact that Indonesia has yet to overcome its strong rivals, especially when competitions have entered the knock-out stage.
At the 2000 Maastricht Bridge Olympiad, Brazil, another force on the world stage, pipped Indonesia by a narrow margin in the quarterfinals.
At the last championships at the Bermuda Bowl, in the same year, Indonesia delivered an outstanding performance by finishing second in the preliminary rounds before going down to Norway in the KO stage.
"The Lausanne trip proved the team's ability to shrug off the pressure of playing against big names," Bertje said.
The win, he added, had provided a morale boost as the team mounted its quest for a top placing at the World Championships, even after the World Bridge Federation (WBF) had withdrawn Indonesia's hosting rights over security concerns.
Bertje hinted that the venue shift had in no way distracted Gabsi from the target, saying: "Gabsi has not altered its policy over the team's goal."
However, he said a place in the top four would be equally satisfying because of the potentially stiff competition.
The Bermuda Bowl was formerly scheduled to be held in Bali, but the WBF decided to shift the venue to Paris amid security concerns in the wake of the Sept. 11 suicide plane attacks in New York and Washington.
The Indonesian team comprises eight players. They will start a six-day training camp on Saturday.
The 17 countries contesting the Bermuda Bowl include Italy, Poland, Norway, United States (two teams), Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Guadaloupe, Egypt, Hong Kong, Japan, India and Pakistan.
The event will also play host to the women's Venice Cup, where the Indonesian female team will be content to finish in the top 10 of the 16 team competition.
Indonesian team lineup: (men's) Henky Lasut, Eddy Manoppo, Denny Sacul, Franky Karwur, Santje Panelewen, Robert Tobing, Giovani Watulingas and Taufik Hasbi; (women's) Lusye Olga Bojoh, Elita Syofian, Riantini, Irma Korengkeng, Nana and Suci.