Bronze swept away from Indonesian water polo team
Bronze swept away from Indonesian water polo team
Agencies, Manila
Despite anguished appeals from their cheering section, the national men's water polo team let a sizable lead slip away on Friday to lose the bronze medal in the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines.
Although the Games do not officially open until Sunday, water polo, as well as soccer, have been in competition in the biennial multisport championship for the past week.
With undefeated Singapore already assured of defending its water polo crown and taking the first gold of the Games, it was up to the Indonesian men to overcome Thailand and go one better than its fourth-place showing from 2003.
In Los Banos, Laguna, about 75 kilometers south of Manila, they came tantalizingly close to winning, after goals by Ismayana Taufan, Dean Baldwin, Heriansyah Saragih and Hendri Marciano.
Thailand mounted a comeback in the third and fourth periods, but Indonesia was still ahead 5-4 with only a few seconds to go. A last-gasp goal by Patipol Phandphoung gave the Thai team a draw and denied Indonesia the medal.
Singapore maintained its perfect record by downing Vietnam 15- 4; the host team took silver, while Malaysia grabbed the bronze.
"We hoped the water polo team would be able to win Indonesia's first medal, but this defeat did away with that," chef de mission Djoko Pramono, still hoarse from cheering on the team, told Antara news service.
"We're not disappointed because we realized the difficulty of getting a medal in this sport."
Djoko, who is also the deputy chairman of the National Sports Council (KONI), said the team -- which compiled a record of three losses, one win and a draw -- failed to play strategically after taking the lead.
"They're still young and let's hope they will have more prestigious achievements in the future."
In Bacolod City, Indonesian men's soccer team, who have played two goalless draws against Myanmar and Singapore, will have to hand mighty Vietnam a defeat on Saturday to keep their hopes alive of advancing from the round-robin group matches to the semifinals.
National team manager Muhammad Zein was quoted as saying by Antara that the Vietnamese might put in a lackluster performance after qualifying for the final four with a win over Myanmar on Thursday.
"We have to win both of our remaining matches (for a semifinal chance)," Zein said.
Indonesia will also play Laos on Nov. 28.
Two days before the Games' opening ceremony, dozens of workers were rushing to finish painting Rizal Memorial Oval Stadium in Manila.
Some of the 11 delegations, including the Indonesians, have complained practice venues are not ready and there has been little fanfare in the capital for the estimated 7,000 athletes.
Organizers dismissed the criticism.
"Everything is falling into place despite the odds, including the lack of funding," head of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee Jose Cojuangco was quoted as saying by Reuters.