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.