Central Java reigns at national `wushu' meet

Central Java reigns at national `wushu' meet

JAKARTA (JP): An 81-strong Central Javanese team came from
behind to bag 16 gold medals, 13 silvers and 12 bronzes for the
overall title at the second National Wushu Championships
concluded here on Saturday.

Parading the biggest contingent at the three-day meet, Central
Java stumbled into the fourth place on the penultimate day,
Friday, with national Asian Games team member Eko Sapuan upset in
the Nanquan discipline.

The country's strongest martial art powerhouse then romped
home with 12 golds on Saturday, leaving overnight leader East
Java to finish second, four golds adrift.

Jambi, however, stole the show as it denied Javanese teams a
clean sweep at the annual event. A collection of six golds, seven
silvers and three bronzes earned the Sumatra side the third place
overall ahead of defending champion West Java.

"A six-month rigorous training stint has paid off," said a
delighted Jambi team manager Amril Madjid. Jambi, led by Chinese
coach Li Zili, fielded 21 athletes. Amril added that wushu will
soon become the second sport after swimming that Jambi may excel
in at the National Games.

A total of 317 martial artists from 12 provinces entered the
championships held at the Lokasari Sports Hall, West Jakarta. The
number of entrants was triple the figure for last year, when
Bandung hosted the event.

West Sumatra, South Sumatra, Yogyakarta and East Kalimantan
left the second wushu meet empty handed.

The overall title gave Central Java's team manager Robert Budi
Wibawa more than pleasure, but he admitted the success was not as
convincing as what he had expected. "We should have won more
golds," he said.

The Central Javanese athletes overwhelmed the national wushu
circuit, the qualifying round for the championships, at home last
June with a haul of 25 golds.

"It's clear that the national wushu map has changed fast,"
Robert added, referring to Jambi's dazzling performance.