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.